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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part 3, Section 5, Letters.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Part 1, Section 6, Polaroids, who was the self-proclaimed "cool man?"
(a) Sam.
(b) The referee of the basketball game.
(c) A tall African American man.
(d) A boy against a fence.

2. If we do not have our broccoli to help us write, what guides us?
(a) The one-inch picture frame.
(b) Our rational mind.
(c) The plot treatment.
(d) The set design.

3. How does Anne suggest finding a partner to read your work?
(a) Ask someone who is a best seller if they would like to work with you.
(b) Ask someone who rarely reads if they would read your work.
(c) Put an ad in the paper or on the bulletin board.
(d) Ask someone whose work you admire if they would like to work with you.

4. What other writing skill did Anne use to write her letter to Sam?
(a) One-inch picture frame.
(b) Jealousy.
(c) Calling around.
(d) School lunches.

5. What is Ethan Canin's idea of the most valuable thing about writing?
(a) Using a sanserif font.
(b) Good dialog.
(c) A strong plot.
(d) A likeable narrator.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a plot treatment?

2. In Anne's comments on the Gulf Stream, what is the straw a metaphor for?

3. What does Anne warn about doing with your characters?

4. When you are stuck in your writing, but you can not leave it alone, what is something Anne suggests to try?

5. How does a writer end up with a good second draft or a terrific third draft?

(see the answer key)

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