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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Foster in Chapter 9, Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is an example of what type of nonfiction?
(a) Reportage.
(b) Immersive journalism.
(c) Creative nonfiction.
(d) New Journalism.

2. 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?
(a) Poet.
(b) Artist.
(c) Critic.
(d) Compiler.

3. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster says that a look at social media reveals what about Americans of all political persuasions?
(a) They are eager for a leader who will heal political divisions.
(b) They have lost touch with reality.
(c) Many on both sides are strong critical thinkers.
(d) Many on both sides are blind to what makes America great.

4. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what type of nonfiction writing does Foster refer to as "soggy" (141), and "soul-deadening" (142)?
(a) The five-paragraph academic essay.
(b) The philosophical essay.
(c) The political essay.
(d) The essays of the Enlightenment.

5. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster says that the chief aim of Fire and Fury is to demonstrate what?
(a) That Trump was a petty tyrant.
(b) That the Trump White House was dysfunctional at all levels.
(c) That Trump's White House was not as transparent as publicly claimed.
(d) That Trump was unable to control his staff.

6. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what does Foster call critical reading?
(a) Scientific reading.
(b) Defensive reading.
(c) Nonfiction evaluation.
(d) Nonfiction analysis.

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

8. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," why does Foster introduce the example of Malcolm Gladwell?
(a) To show how a clever writer can overcome public skepticism.
(b) To contrast with the more rigorous writing of Neil deGrasse Tyson.
(c) To provide an example of amateur profiling.
(d) To illustrate the idea of a science writer who has developed a "brand" for his writing.

9. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," Foster points out that Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me begins similarly to which other work?
(a) Apologia Pro Vita Sua.
(b) The Year of Magical Thinking.
(c) Dreams from My Father.
(d) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

10. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," which writer does Foster credit with originating the essay?
(a) Virginia Woolf.
(b) Michel de Montaigne.
(c) George Orwell.
(d) Rene Descartes.

11. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster say the main role of editors is?
(a) Proofreading.
(b) Critical thinking.
(c) Protecting the interests of media owners.
(d) Protecting the interests of the public.

12. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what aspect of Renaissance scholarship does Foster say the essay rebels against?
(a) Respect for accurate history.
(b) The importance of institutional authority.
(c) Obedience to the Christian God.
(d) The veneration of classical Greece and Rome.

13. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster call inaccurate information?
(a) Dark energy.
(b) Dark information.
(c) Hypertext.
(d) Cyber-lies.

14. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," Foster refers to ARPANET. What is ARPANET?
(a) An early government computer network.
(b) A writer's group that works toward accuracy on the web.
(c) The governmental body that regulates the internet.
(d) The first computer browser.

15. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," what advantage does Foster say contemporaneous accounts have?
(a) They allow the reader to understand the world as it is in the present.
(b) They offer a long view on historical events.
(c) They allow the writer to consult sources from a variety of viewpoints.
(d) They offer a narrower--and therefore easier to understand--view of history.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster alludes to Peyton Place because he is implying that Fire and Fury is essentially what?

2. 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)?

3. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," which author does Foster say is at the opposite "pole" of New Journalism from Hunter S. Thompson?

4. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what criticism does Foster level against Malcolm Gladwell?

5. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," which claim does Foster make about thesis statements?

(see the answer keys)

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