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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 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster calls an expression a "bromide." What is he saying about this expression?
(a) It is insightful but wordy.
(b) It is unoriginal and unimportant.
(c) It is boring and mean-spirited.
(d) It is clever and concise.

2. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." what does Foster say is usually the difference between quoted anonymous sources and sources speaking "on background"?
(a) The only difference is actually whether the information is quoted or paraphrased.
(b) Background sources tend to be highly-placed officials, while anonymous sources tend to be leakers.
(c) Reporters are not usually asked to verify information obtained in a quote, but they are supposed to double-check information given "on background."
(d) Quoted anonymous sources are more likely to be accurate than information obtained "on background."

3. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," one of the main points that Foster wants to make about All the President's Men is what?
(a) It is unusual for people to write about themselves in the third person.
(b) Woodward and Bernstein used too many anonymous sources.
(c) All the President's Men is a work of nonfiction.
(d) Woodward and Bernstein faced serious obstacles in investigating the Watergate story.

4. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster call the rules governing different forms of nonfiction?
(a) Grammar.
(b) Syntax.
(c) Laws.
(d) Precepts.

5. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," how does Foster define "specialty journalism"?
(a) Forms of journalism devoted to a single subject area.
(b) The newspaper sports section.
(c) Editorial writing.
(d) Feature writing.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to "The Building Blocks of Arguments," what is the only form of nonfiction that is not argumentative?

2. In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," what is a piece of information that Foster says we can infer from the notes?

3. According to Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," at what level are most news stories written?

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

5. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster say beginning writers often get too caught up in?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," what are the two main functions of the prologue that Foster discusses?

2. Explain why, in Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster says that, even in narrative nonfiction, there is a difference between chronological order and structure.

3. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," why does Foster say that focus and telos can change if the structure of a work is changed?

4. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," why does Foster call the organization of The Boys in the Boat "kaleidoscopic" (14)?

5. 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?

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

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

8. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," what does Foster say is the purpose of his reader being asked to think like a writer, and what is one example of how this works?

9. At the end of "Building Blocks of Arguments," Foster discusses mistakes in claims, grounds, and warrants. He gives the example of someone born in American Samoa claiming to be a U.S. citizen. Since American Samoa is not a territory that the U.S. recognizes as conferring birthright citizenship, Foster says that this argument is mistaken in its grounds. Is it? Explain why or why not.

10. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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