View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster refers to White House staff as "denizens" (190). What is the best definition of this word in this context?
(a) Occupants.
(b) Caretakers.
(c) Children.
(d) Horrors.

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

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

5. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," which work does Foster say is likely the first example of New Journalism?
(a) The Armies of the Night.
(b) The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
(c) Hell's Angels.
(d) In Cold Blood.

6. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster alludes to Peyton Place because he is implying that Fire and Fury is essentially what?
(a) A dry and academic piece of scholarship.
(b) A comic masterpiece.
(c) A mediocre melodrama.
(d) A thought-provoking fiction.

7. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," what does Foster say is the main difference between New Journalism and immersive journalism?
(a) Immersive journalists want to be seen as clever, inventive writers.
(b) Immersive journalists do not try to draw attention to themselves.
(c) Immersive journalists use many more techniques usually found in fiction.
(d) Immersive journalists are strictly objective.

8. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what important characteristic of the essay does Foster point out?
(a) It is highly adaptable.
(b) It teaches the reader to organize their thoughts.
(c) It is an ancient form of writing.
(d) It is more easily understood than other forms of nonfiction.

9. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster says that Omarosa "uses her first name mononymously" (188). What does this mean about her use of her first name?
(a) She uses it for professional work, but it is not her real first name.
(b) She uses it alone, as a one-word name, without her last name.
(c) She uses her last (family) name as her first (personal) name.
(d) She uses a nickname as her first name, but it is not her legal first name.

10. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," which claim does Foster make about thesis statements?
(a) An implied thesis is more sophisticated than a directly stated thesis.
(b) A thesis can be placed anywhere in an essay.
(c) No one can truly come up with a "unique" thesis.
(d) It does not need to limit the content of the essay.

11. 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) Dreams from My Father.
(b) Apologia Pro Vita Sua.
(c) The Year of Magical Thinking.
(d) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

12. 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) Journalistic compilation.
(b) Amateur profiles.
(c) Interrogation of text.
(d) Expert testimony.

13. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," Foster discusses primary and secondary sources. Which of the following would be a secondary source about World War Two?
(a) A collection of English WWII military maps and charts discovered many years after the war.
(b) A 1942 letter from an overseas American soldier to his parents.
(c) A historical account in a 2020 textbook about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
(d) An editorial in the New York Times opposing American involvement in the war.

14. Based on Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what would Foster call a journalist writing about a biologist and her discoveries?
(a) Journalistic compilation.
(b) Expert testimony.
(c) Amateur profiles.
(d) Interrogation of text.

15. In "Interrogating the Text," Foster says that readers should beware of ad hominem arguments. What he means is that readers should be suspicious when writers do what?
(a) Attack the people making arguments instead of the arguments themselves.
(b) Appeal to emotion rather than to logic.
(c) Contend that because something is new it must be better or more correct.
(d) Portray the opposition argument as much weaker than it actually is.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. 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)?

5. Whom does Foster name, in Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," as the "inheritors" (164) of the legacy of Apologia Pro Vita Sua?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 946 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample