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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 8, "Bringing the News," one of the main points that Foster wants to make about All the President's Men is what?
2. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," Foster introduces the term "structural design," saying that it is similar to which term related to fiction?
3. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," where does Foster suggest writers should gather information about historical figures?
4. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Whome does Foster say is "our greatest living thinker about writing nonfiction" (81)?
5. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," Foster talks about the change in value over time of a reporter's eyewitness testimony. What does Foster call this change in value?
Short Essay Questions
1. 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?
2. 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?
3. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what two problems does Foster identify with the use of data as support?
4. 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.
5. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," what does Foster seem to admire about the Lansing State Journal's coverage of the Nassar scandal?
6. 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?
7. In Chapter 5, "It May Just Be Me, But..." how does Foster suggest that a reader can examine the author's use of quotes to determine bias?
8. 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?
9. 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"?
10. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what relationship does Foster point out between reportorial presence and time?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay in which you define and describe a form of writing found exclusively on the Web. Be sure to cover the "grammar" and purpose of the form in your description.
Essay Topic 3
In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," Foster explains several questions that are important to ask while reading opinions and editorials. Explain each of these questions and its importance in critical reading.
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This section contains 1,139 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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