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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of improvement in outcomes does Caroline Hoxby correlate class size to?

2. What did the best paintings get at the Paris Salon?

3. How many men does Gladwell say T. E. Lawrence’s force lost, in capturing those men?

4. What does Gladwell say is the overriding assumption about class composition?

5. Who did T. E. Lawrence lead against the Turks?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the advantages Lawrence of Arabia’s force had, compared to the Turks?

2. How does Gladwell say dyslexia helped prepare David Boies to be a trial lawyer?

3. How does Gladwell characterize Goliath’s size and equipment?

4. What is Gladwell’s hierarchy of professions?

5. What are the physiological flaws Gladwell identifies in Goliath’s body type?

6. What does Gladwell say leads people to adopt David’s strategies?

7. What is Harvard’s theory of the “happy bottom quarter” (90)?

8. What is Vivek Ranadivé’s qualification to coach basketball?

9. Why does Gladwell say that Caroline Sacks should have gone to University of Maryland instead of Brown University?

10. How does Gladwell explain Ikea’s success through “disagreeableness” (118)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Time and again, Gladwell tells a complex personal or historical story and then simplifies it down to extrapolate a simple lesson, such as the simple lesson that the British Army had not properly established its authority to govern the residents of Belfast. In many cases, anyone with a sense of history will say, “it’s a little more complicated than that.”

This raises the question of what purpose Gladwell is serving, by telling such simple stories, and leaving out so many confounding variables. What do you think Gladwell believes he is doing for his audiences, and what do you think his readers like about his books?

Essay Topic 2

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of the author based on her style and content. What can we tell about him, based on the choices she makes in terms of description, characterization and plot? What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

(see the answer keys)

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