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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," what does Joan say her friend was disappointed about in her 4-year-old's reference letters?
(a) Nobody mentioned how much money her parents made.
(b) Nobody mentioned she was potty-trained.
(c) Nobody mentioned her interest in art.
(d) Nobody mentioned her songwriting skills.

2. What does Didion say she considered doing after receiving her rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Running away.
(b) Shooting herself.
(c) Slitting her wrists.
(d) Overdosing on pills.

3. In what year was Skip active in the 101st Airborne in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?
(a) 1919.
(b) 1944.
(c) 1964.
(d) 1958.

4. In what grade does Joan's friend get on the essay she wrote for him in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," how many applications does Joan say the private kindergarten her friend was trying to get her child into received?
(a) 15.
(b) 5.
(c) 90.
(d) 1000.

5. In "Alicia and the Underground Press," what does Didion feel a reader can be sure of when the writer allows their bias to exist?
(a) You can be sure the writer will tell you what s/he truly thinks.
(b) You can be sure the writer will be dishonest.
(c) You can be sure the writer's goal is to change your mind.
(d) You can be sure the writer is unprofessional.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Nancy's daughter go to school in "Pretty Nancy"?

2. In what city in California does the meeting in "Getting Serenity" take place?

3. How does Nancy's son get home from school in "Pretty Nancy"?

4. How many nights does one of the speakers say he has been free from his addiction in "Getting Serenity"?

5. What does Nancy tell Joan she does not believe in being at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Joan doing at Nancy Reagan's home in "Pretty Nancy" and who else is there and why?

2. How did Joan's father react when she told him she did not get into Stanford in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

3. What example does Joan use to express how much more difficult things have gotten regarding parents trying to ensure their children get into their college of choice?

4. In what way does the newsman in "Pretty Nancy" try to manipulate the moment to achieve his desired outcome?

5. What does Joan say about the "great adventure" the men who fought in the 1940s compared to their sons "great adventure" (40) in Vietnam?

6. What does Didion say underground papers are able to do that conventional papers cannot in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

7. Where is Joan Didion in her essay "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles" (38)?

8. What does Didion say about objectivity in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

9. Describe the first female speaker in "Getting Serenity."

10. What happened when Joan wrote a paper for one of her friends at Stanford? What was the paper about? What grade did he get? What grade did she get?

(see the answer keys)

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