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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. Gardner states that the effective writer leads the reader into a continuous what?

2. Gardner suggests that the dazzling poetry of Mercutio's Queen Mab speech is not the same poetry that who speaks?

3. Gardner suggests the young writer get a first-rate freshman composition book such as An American Rhetoric by whom?

4. Which author does Gardner say has a style at parties to take to the floor at any cost, telling funny stories?

5. Who wrote Bartelby the Scrivener?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Gardner refer to as the "best" novelists in Chapter 1? What lesson does he cite of them?

2. What does Gardner suggest as ways to understand the psychology of characters unlike themselves?

3. What does Gardner relate about the "author's character" in Chapter 1? How does he describe "special intelligence?"

4. What does Gardner write about showy language in Chapter 1?

5. What does Gardner say of "recognizing the significant" in Chapter 1?

6. What does Gardner remark of the author's sense of observation in Chapter 1?

7. How does Gardner define "setting," "plot," and "theme" in Chapter 1?

8. How does the young author learn technique through reading others?

9. How does Gardner describe traditional plot, victim stories, and "epiphany stories?"

10. What does Gardner say in Chapter 1 regarding "verbal sensitivity?" What does this term mean?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the process of getting a book published, from the first manuscript submission to the book on the shelf.

Essay Topic 2

What subjects are worthwhile or important for the author in gaining a well-rounded education? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Gardner's feelings about the element of "theme" when writing. Where is "theme" useful? Where is it not?

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