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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 difficulties of investigative journalism.
(c) The importance of community newspapers.
(d) The ways in which trusted people can betray others.

2. According to "The Building Blocks of Arguments," what is the only form of nonfiction that is not argumentative?
(a) User manuals.
(b) History.
(c) Reportage.
(d) Technical reports.

3. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." Foster says that a source's quote can be "emended" (55). What happens to an emended quote?
(a) It is updated.
(b) It is shortened.
(c) It is verified.
(d) It is withdrawn.

4. According to Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," what are the sidebar discussions found in the book's back matter called?
(a) The index.
(b) Content notes.
(c) The appendix.
(d) Callouts.

5. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster say about the proliferation of online sources?
(a) They democratize media.
(b) They are often carefully sourced.
(c) They make everything seem like nonsense.
(d) They offer marginalized voices a chance to be heard.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," what are the "four Ps" that Foster discusses?

2. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what type of writing does Foster say relies heavily on eyewitness testimony?

3. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," what does Foster say the first job of the writer is, on page one?

4. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what does Foster say about disclaimers like "I don't dislike soccer" (52)?

5. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster discusses Pollan's How to Change Your Mind as an example of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. On page 21 of Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster says, of Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, "This is First Contact with Aliens." What does Foster mean by this, and how do we know?

2. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what are the ways that Foster suggests chronological order can be modified, and why would a writer choose to do this?

3. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster say is the consequence of a "land without gatekeepers" (68)?

4. In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," what two kinds of notes does Foster discuss and what are their functions?

5. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster compare to "wrestl[ing] an octopus," (81), and why does he make this comparison?

6. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," what problem does Foster identify with creating a point of view for All the President's Men, and how do Woodward and Bernstein solve it?

7. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," why does Foster say that All the President's Men is "meta-journalism"?

8. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," what does Foster say is similar about the terms "narrative strategy" and "structural design," and what does he say is the difference?

9. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster say about biographies and the length of time that has passed since the lives of their subjects?

10. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," what does Foster seem to admire about the Lansing State Journal's coverage of the Nassar scandal?

(see the answer keys)

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