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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster say about the proliferation of online sources?

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

3. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster calls an expression a "bromide." What is he saying about this expression?

4. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," what does Foster say distinguishes the prologue from a preface?

5. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is the point of having a variety of media sources?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what relationship does Foster point out between reportorial presence and time?

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 about biographies and the length of time that has passed since the lives of their subjects?

4. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," Foster explains the origin of the prologue. What is its origin and how is that origin reflected in today's prologues?

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

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

8. 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.

9. 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?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," Foster says that titles are important guideposts to meaning. Evaluate the effectiveness of the chapter titles that Foster has chosen for this book.

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster makes a number of claims about the importance of newspapers. Do you agree, disagree, or agree with qualifications?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," Foster argues that the essay began with the Enlightenment. Many of the works that he cites were called "treatises" by their authors, however. Look up the similarities and differences between an "essay" and a "treatise." Then look up the writings of Ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle. Write an argument of definition in which you take a stand about whether the essay and the treatise are the same or different types of writing; in your essay, take a stand about when the "essay" becomes a distinct type of writing.

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