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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 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what does Foster say is true about contemporary America?
2. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," Foster says that Fire and Fury was "incendiary" (189). He is comparing the book to what?
3. Based on Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what would Foster call a journalist writing a general survey of the field of string theory?
4. According to Foster in Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what two errors in thinking prevent people from embracing gatekeeping?
5. Based on Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what would Foster call a neuroscientist reporting on and analyzing recent developments in neuroscience?
Short Essay Questions
1. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," what criticism does Foster level at Fox News?
2. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," what does Foster admire about the writing of John McPhee?
3. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," why does Foster spend time describing the contents of Cardinal Newman's autobiography?
4. Which of the three writers that Foster discusses in Chapter 13, "On the Stump," does Foster find to be least reliable, and which does he find to be most reliable? Why is this?
5. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," why does Foster say that Hunter S. Thomson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is really a roman à clef?
6. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster say is problematic about the internet and web?
7. Explain why, in Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," Foster says that the narrators of nonfiction can be just as unreliable as the narrators of fiction.
8. In "Interrogating the Text," what does Foster say the purpose of interrogating text is?
9. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," what does Foster say is the difference between autobiography and memoir?
10. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," Foster reveals the central issue of the book. What does he say the issue is, and why does he believe it is worth devoting a book to?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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.
Essay Topic 2
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 3
Based on the language and tone of Foster's book, who is his imagined audience? Is this audience consistent throughout the book? Give specific textual examples as you analyze how Foster's language and tone reveal the presumed audience for this book.
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This section contains 909 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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