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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. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," why is "foreward" spelled with an "e" instead of as we usually see it, "forward"?
(a) Without the "e," the word means a direction; with the "e," it means a piece of writing that comes ahead of another.
(b) This is a proofreading error in the text.
(c) The spelling "foreward" is a British spelling, like "flavour," and is therefore an accepted alternate spelling.
(d) Foster is using an unconventional spelling to draw attention to the idea "fore," which means "ahead."

2. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," what does Foster say is responsible for Didion's characteristic style?
(a) Drugs.
(b) Education.
(c) Gender.
(d) Politics.

3. What is being discussed in Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," when Foster says that the "form and tone of the essay must fit the writer like a suit" (144)?
(a) Characterization and personality.
(b) Subjectivity and attachment.
(c) Style and voice.
(d) Conflict and theme.

4. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is true of the sports section?
(a) It contains every type of writing found in a newspaper.
(b) It contains primarily editorial columns.
(c) Its box scores are an example of soft news.
(d) It excludes features.

5. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what does Foster say about disclaimers like "I don't dislike soccer" (52)?
(a) That this kind of phrasing often introduces counterclaims.
(b) That double negatives are generally used to disguise a lie.
(c) That it is good when authors clarify what ground is "neutral" to them.
(d) That it probably means the speaker actually does dislike soccer.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what kind of person does Foster say is likely to be biased?

2. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what is the purpose of Foster's discussion of structure in Coming into the Country?

3. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what does Foster say is true about quotes attributed to anonymous sources?

4. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," why does Foster not capitalize the name of bell hooks?

5. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster calls an expression a "bromide." What is he saying about this expression?

(see the answer key)

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