View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 3: Chapter 9, "Living the News" through Chapter 12, "That Is So Last Year".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Based on Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," how would Foster sum up the place of newspapers in today's world?
(a) Print newspapers may be obsolete, but online newspapers serve the same purpose.
(b) In a connected world, newspapers are simply irrelevant.
(c) Because we have invested heavily in modern newspapers, they have grown in popularity.
(d) Although they are losing popularity, they are still an essential form of news media.

2. In Chapter 6, "Source Code,"what does Foster say about researching primary sources on microfiche?
(a) Microfiche is obsolete and has already been supplanted by digital sources.
(b) It may be tedious, but it's worth the effort.
(c) It's too much work.
(d) Microfiche is an unreliable medium.

3. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," what does Foster say distinguishes the prologue from a preface?
(a) The word preface is generally only used for fiction.
(b) The word preface is generally only used with narratives.
(c) The word prologue is generally only used with narratives.
(d) The word prologue is generally only used for fiction.

4. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," what form does Foster say takes its name from the French term for reminiscence?
(a) Confessions.
(b) Memoir.
(c) Autobiography.
(d) Biography.

5. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what important characteristic of the essay does Foster point out?
(a) It is more easily understood than other forms of nonfiction.
(b) It is an ancient form of writing.
(c) It is highly adaptable.
(d) It teaches the reader to organize their thoughts.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster tells us that changing the structure of a story changes its what?

2. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is the difference between "hard news" and "soft news"?

3. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," what does Foster say is responsible for Didion's characteristic style?

4. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what document does Foster call the "ultimate political expression of [the] Enlightenment insistence on the individual" (146)?

5. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster notes that the expectation for a writer to be engaging does not apply to which types of writing?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 426 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample