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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 2: Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." through Chapter 8, "Bringing the News".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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?
(a) Informational.
(b) Political.
(c) Academic.
(d) Technical.

2. According to "The Building Blocks of Arguments," what is the implicit argument of most nonfiction writing?
(a) That the writer has the authority to write about the subject.
(b) That the subject matter is important enough to read about.
(c) That the writer's angle on the subject is the correct one.
(d) That the reader should change their beliefs or behavior.

3. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what does Foster say about offering equal space and analysis to opposing arguments?
(a) This can destroy a story.
(b) This is part of fair and balanced reporting.
(c) It strikes the modern reader as dishonest.
(d) It is confusing to the reader.

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(b) Microfiche is obsolete and has already been supplanted by digital sources.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

5. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," one of the main points that Foster wants to make about All the President's Men is what?
(a) Woodward and Bernstein faced serious obstacles in investigating the Watergate story.
(b) Woodward and Bernstein used too many anonymous sources.
(c) All the President's Men is a work of nonfiction.
(d) It is unusual for people to write about themselves in the third person.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," which is the only type of nonfiction that Foster says doesn't need "rock-solid" sources (69)?

2. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster says that rules are determined by content, not codex. What does this mean?

3. According to Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," at what level are most news stories written?

4. Based on Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," how would Foster sum up the place of newspapers in today's world?

5. The section of this book called "The Books in the Book" is what part of the book?

(see the answer key)

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