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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," Foster says that the placement of newspaper columns often creates a "dichotomy." What is he accusing them of doing?
(a) Making it difficult for readers to find information outside of the two-party system.
(b) Creating the impression that fair and balanced coverage is unimportant.
(c) Creating the impression that there are only two possible points of view.
(d) Making it difficult for readers to understand the nuances of their arguments.

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

4. In "Interrogating the Text," where does Foster say the "three questions" originate?
(a) Stephen Ambrose, author of Undaunted Courage.
(b) John McPhee, Pulitzer-Prize-winning nonfiction author.
(c) Stephen Toulmin, British philosopher and logician.
(d) William Shawn, an editor at The New Yorker.

5. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," Foster calls Fear and Loathing a roman à clef. What is he saying about this book?
(a) It is a work of fiction that parodies a work of journalism.
(b) It is a work that translates a novel in another language into English.
(c) It is an autobiographical book about journalism.
(d) It is a book of nonfiction thinly disguised as fiction.

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

7. 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 illustrate the idea of a science writer who has developed a "brand" for his writing.
(d) To provide an example of amateur profiling.

8. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," Foster calls Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation "pointillist" (179). What quality is he saying this book has?
(a) A focus on detail at the expense of continuity.
(b) A focus on the "big picture" at the expense of fine detail.
(c) A focus on individual voices at the expense of institutional perspective.
(d) A focus on immediacy at the expense of long-term perspective.

9. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," which author does Foster say is at the opposite "pole" of New Journalism from Hunter S. Thompson?
(a) Tom Wolfe.
(b) Truman Capote.
(c) Joan Didion.
(d) Raoul Duke.

10. In "Interrogating the Text," Foster says that he himself tends to "eschew" notes. He is saying what about his use of notes?
(a) He backs up his notes with a Works Cited section.
(b) He does not use them.
(c) His notes are sometimes disorganized.
(d) He tends to provide too many.

11. 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 essays of the Enlightenment.
(b) The philosophical essay.
(c) The political essay.
(d) The five-paragraph academic essay.

12. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster says that the outsider exposé has what advantage over the insider exposé?
(a) Objectivity.
(b) Immediacy.
(c) Perspective.
(d) Accuracy.

13. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," what does Foster suggest that Ambrose loses by choosing to focus on Lewis?
(a) Information about what happened after Lewis's death.
(b) The reader's trust.
(c) A variety of perspectives.
(d) The chance to engage a wider audience of readers.

14. Based on Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what would Foster call a journalist writing a general survey of the field of string theory?
(a) Expert testimony.
(b) Journalistic compilation.
(c) Interrogation of text.
(d) Amateur profiles.

15. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what criticism does Foster level against Malcolm Gladwell?
(a) That he does not try to engage the reader.
(b) That he does not examine data critically enough.
(c) That he offers so much data it can be difficult to follow his arguments.
(d) That he tries to write outside of his own field.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," what does Foster call works that people write about their own experiences with illness and dying?

2. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what does Foster say is true about contemporary America?

3. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," Foster refers to ARPANET. What is ARPANET?

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

5. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what important characteristic of the essay does Foster point out?

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