View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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) Background sources tend to be highly-placed officials, while anonymous sources tend to be leakers.
(b) The only difference is actually whether the information is quoted or paraphrased.
(c) Quoted anonymous sources are more likely to be accurate than information obtained "on background."
(d) Reporters are not usually asked to verify information obtained in a quote, but they are supposed to double-check information given "on background."

3. 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 clever and concise.
(b) It is insightful but wordy.
(c) It is unoriginal and unimportant.
(d) It is boring and mean-spirited.

4. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster cite as one of the main reasons that Americans have historically trusted the news media?
(a) Journalists' willingness to admit bias.
(b) The tendency of editors to insist on multiple sources.
(c) The strict editorial control of content.
(d) Journalists' willingness to admit mistakes.

5. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster say is the purpose of the academic five-paragraph essay?
(a) It teaches students to organize their thoughts.
(b) It is the most that students are capable of before college.
(c) It is the preferred format for professional writing.
(d) It is a flexible and useful format for anything a student might need to write about.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 6, "Source Code,"what does Foster say about researching primary sources on microfiche?

2. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster call the "gold standard" of sources (63)?

3. Which form discussed in Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," is generally not written by the author of the main piece of writing?

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

5. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster notes that the expectation for a writer to be engaging does not apply to which types of writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster say that "expertise" is and is not?

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. 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?

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

5. On page 33 of "Building Blocks of Arguments," Foster compares claims and grounds to two people standing next to one another at a dance and says warrants are what "pins" them together so that they can "go steady." Explain his meaning.

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

7. Why, in Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," does Foster say that it is both good and bad news that all communication has a "grammar"?

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

9. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what two problems does Foster identify with the use of data as support?

10. In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," Foster discusses tables of contents and indexes. What is similar about these two things and what is different?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,182 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample