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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 4: Chapter 13,"On the Stump" through Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what implicit assertion about online writing does Foster make?
(a) It is nearly always lower quality than the writing in print sources.
(b) It is susceptible to fewer hidden biases and is therefore more objective.
(c) It is capable of presenting hard news in a more timely fashion than print media can.
(d) It is often more accurate and more engaging than print media.

2. In "Interrogating the Text," what does Foster say most authors will do?
(a) Make it clear what their sources are.
(b) Make up sources and say that people spoke "on background."
(c) Craft arguments with a sympathetic audience in mind.
(d) Try to get away with unsupported assertions.

3. Based on Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what would Foster call a neuroscientist reporting on and analyzing recent developments in neuroscience?
(a) Expert testimony.
(b) Journalistic compilation.
(c) Interrogation of text.
(d) Amateur profiles.

4. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Whome does Foster say is "our greatest living thinker about writing nonfiction" (81)?
(a) Bob Woodward.
(b) John McPhee.
(c) Michael Pollan.
(d) Malcolm Gladwell.

5. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what consequence does Foster say the rise of the internet has had?
(a) A decline in the average American's reading ability.
(b) A rise in people's awareness of current events.
(c) A lack of respect for, and recognition of, expertise.
(d) A new respect for minority opinions.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," Foster says that an author of a history about long-ago events is not really so much a reporter as a what?

2. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what does Foster call critical reading?

3. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster discusses Pollan's How to Change Your Mind as an example of what?

4. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster call inaccurate information?

5. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster says that which type of nonfiction is usually better off starting at the beginning chronologically?

(see the answer key)

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