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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster discusses Pollan's How to Change Your Mind as an example of what?
(a) Science writing that does not use chronological order.
(b) Science writing that begins in media res.
(c) Why self-help books are better off using a chronological structure.
(d) Why self-help books can use many non-chronological structures.

3. 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?
(a) To show how chronological structure can be adapted to a particular message.
(b) To demonstrate that theme is dependent on detail.
(c) To show that cause and effect structure can be used for narrative.
(d) To demonstrate the limits of chronological structure.

4. In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," what is a piece of information that Foster says we can infer from the notes?
(a) The author's purpose.
(b) The intended audience.
(c) The author's education.
(d) Potential biases.

5. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what kind of person does Foster say is likely to be biased?
(a) Everyone.
(b) Republicans.
(c) Older people.
(d) Uneducated people.

6. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster makes what point about newspaper articles?
(a) They often use a cause and effect structure.
(b) Almost all of them incorporate at least some cause and effect structure.
(c) They are often deviate from strict chronology in order to make a point.
(d) Almost all of them are written in strict chronological order.

7. 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) Technical.
(c) Academic.
(d) Political.

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

9. The section of this book called "The Books in the Book" is what part of the book?
(a) A foreward.
(b) A preface.
(c) The introduction.
(d) An appendix.

10. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," Foster describes the Larry Nassar scandal as an illustration of what?
(a) How major universities sometimes engage in cover ups.
(b) The importance of community newspapers.
(c) The difficulties of investigative journalism.
(d) The ways in which trusted people can betray others.

11. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what type of writing does Foster say relies heavily on eyewitness testimony?
(a) History.
(b) Science.
(c) Op-eds.
(d) Journalism.

12. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster cite as one of the main reasons that Americans have historically trusted the news media?
(a) Journalists' willingness to admit bias.
(b) The strict editorial control of content.
(c) The tendency of editors to insist on multiple sources.
(d) Journalists' willingness to admit mistakes.

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

14. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster tells us that changing the structure of a story changes its what?
(a) Genre.
(b) Topic.
(c) Meaning.
(d) Length.

15. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what does Foster say is usually the difference between quoted anonymous sources and sources speaking "on background"?
(a) The only difference is actually whether the information is quoted or paraphrased.
(b) Background sources tend to be highly-placed officials, while anonymous sources tend to be leakers.
(c) Quoted anonymous sources are more likely to be accurate than information obtained "on background."
(d) Reporters are not usually asked to verify information obtained in a quote, but they are supposed to double-check information given "on background."

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," what does Foster say distinguishes the prologue from a preface?

2. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster say the term "Fake News" originally referred to?

3. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster call the "gold standard" of sources (63)?

4. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is true of the sports section?

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 keys)

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