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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Creating the impression that there are only two possible points of view.
(b) Making it difficult for readers to find information outside of the two-party system.
(c) Making it difficult for readers to understand the nuances of their arguments.
(d) Creating the impression that fair and balanced coverage is unimportant.

2. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," what criticism does Foster level at Comey's book A Higher Loyalty?
(a) The logic of two key passages is suspect.
(b) The omniscient narrative style.
(c) The use of hearsay.
(d) The attribution of sources.

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

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

5. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster say the contemporary world lacks?
(a) Sources of information.
(b) Moral judgement.
(c) Critical thinking.
(d) Education.

6. "Flu cases are 100% higher this year" is an example of what problematic use of data discussed by Foster in "Interrogating the Text"?
(a) Appeal to extremes.
(b) Lack of context.
(c) Cherry-picking.
(d) False analogy.

7. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," why does Foster take the time to discuss the characteristic style of Barnes, Hitchens, and Robinson?
(a) To support his claim that there is an essayist for every kind of reader.
(b) To illustrate how different the voice and style of essayists can be.
(c) To point out the "earnestness" of Robinson's writing.
(d) To demonstrate that Barnes is the least interesting of the three writers.

8. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," which authors does Foster point out as not engaged in New Journalism?
(a) Woodward and Bernstein.
(b) Capote and Agee.
(c) Mailer and Didion.
(d) Breslin and Talese.

9. Whose Apologia Pro Vita Sua is discussed in Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside"?
(a) Augustine of Hippo.
(b) Charles Kingsley.
(c) The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(d) John Henry, Cardinal Newman.

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

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

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

13. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," what does Foster tell us begins Ben Franklin's autobiography?
(a) A description of Franklin's childhood.
(b) Excerpts from a speech Franklin gave while serving as Ambassador to France.
(c) A letter to his son.
(d) The dramatic moment when the Declaration is signed.

14. 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 historical account in a 2020 textbook about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
(b) A 1942 letter from an overseas American soldier to his parents.
(c) A collection of English WWII military maps and charts discovered many years after the war.
(d) An editorial in the New York Times opposing American involvement in the war.

15. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," why does Foster not capitalize the name of bell hooks?
(a) It is a name she herself rejected.
(b) He is respecting hooks's wishes.
(c) He is showing how little he values her work.
(d) It is a pseudonym.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," what does Foster suggest that Ambrose loses by choosing to focus on Lewis?

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?

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

4. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what does Foster seem to admire most about Neil deGrasse Tyson's writing?

5. 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?

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