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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 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster tells us that changing the structure of a story changes its what?

2. According to "The Building Blocks of Arguments," what is the implicit argument of most nonfiction writing?

3. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Whome does Foster say is "our greatest living thinker about writing nonfiction" (81)?

4. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster say is the purpose of the academic five-paragraph essay?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. 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"?

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. 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?

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

8. 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.

9. 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.

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 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 2

In Chapter 7, "It's All in How You Look at Things," Foster explains the history of the term "Fake News." Explain the evolution of this term, being sure to mention people who were important to its evolution and giving clear examples of media called "fake news" at each step of the process.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster proposes that newspapers write the "first draft" of history, magazines write the "second draft," and history books write the "final draft." Argue for or against this claim--or accept it with qualifications.

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