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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part IV: Chapter 20 The Sound of Your Voice.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What other group of people uses euphemisms or fad terms?
(a) Musicians.
(b) State employees.
(c) Doctors.
(d) Business writers.

2. What is the main attitude that writers have today?
(a) To write modern literature and be the next best author.
(b) To write well, regardless of whether it is fiction or nonfiction.
(c) To write literature, the way it was defined before WWII.
(d) To be published in the New Yorker.

3. Who are two authors that Zissner admires for solid writing and ornamentation?
(a) Sylvia Plath and Jane Austen.
(b) Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe.
(c) Normal Mailer and Virginia Wolfe.
(d) Virginia Woolfe and Sylvia Plath.

4. What is an example of a time when bad writing HAS to be read?
(a) Corporate memos or technical writing.
(b) In English class.
(c) Online writing.
(d) In the newspaper.

5. Why is the above a problem?
(a) Writers don't put enough effort into their writing.
(b) Writers end up editing too much.
(c) Writers need to start at the end and work their way up.
(d) Usually the first two or three paragraphs of a piece can be cut.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the best way to add humor into writing?

2. What group of people does the author think has the worst type of writing?

3. What does the etymology of words mean?

4. What is another example of when a person HAS to read bad writing?

5. What does Zissner use to highlight clutter in his students' writing?

(see the answer key)

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