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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. What does Didion say she did when she first read the college rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

2. In "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," Joan dates a man who aspires to be what?

3. In what year was Skip active in the 101st Airborne in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

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

5. Why does Didion say that underground newspapers are not truly underground in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Didion describe the way the Hearsts spent money in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

2. What does Nancy Reagan show Joan at the State Capital and what does she say about it?

3. What does Didion says about the way Alicia writers her opinion piece about Ann Arbor in "Alicia"?

4. 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?

5. What do the tour guides in "A Trip to Xandadu" say about Hearsts sons?

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

7. 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?

8. How does Didion describe the tone of the tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Based on her essays in Let Me Tell You What I Mean ,write an analysis of Joan Didion. Consider who she is as a writer, what you know of her backstory, as well as who and what she likes and dislikes. Use textual evidence to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the author of Let Me Tell You What I Mean. Who is she? What else has she written? How is Let Me Tell You What I Mean similar or different from her previous works?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay describing the way Joan Didion comes up with ideas for her novels as discussed in "Why I Write" and in "Telling Stories." Where does these ideas come from? How do they manifest in the final product.

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