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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part III: Chapter 11 Nonfiction as Literature.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where should the writer find his or her words?
(a) From within the subconscious to the writing consciousness
(b) From a thesaraus.
(c) From a dictionary.
(d) From modern euphanisms that people can relate to.

2. What does it convey when anyone says he can write a book if he wanted to?
(a) It shows that people are ignorant.
(b) It reveals how easy it is to write a book.
(c) It reveals the misconception that writing is easy.
(d) It shows that there are many talented people in the world.

3. What period of writing constantly used semicolons?
(a) Only 18th century England.
(b) The 17th century.
(c) All modern writing uses semicolons constantly.
(d) The 19th century.

4. What should every paragraph end with?
(a) Every paragraph needs to have a hook or a cliffhanger that will lead the reader into the next paragraph.
(b) All paragraphs should repeat the first sentence.
(c) All paragraphs should end with a summary of the entire paragraph.
(d) Every paragraph should end with a period.

5. What is it that the bad writers mentioned above do that makes their writing terrible?
(a) They use too many euphemisms.
(b) They don't check their facts.
(c) They have bad grammar.
(d) They lie too much.

Short Answer Questions

1. Can good writing be taught?

2. What is the transaction in writing?

3. How does Zinsser approach unusual words?

4. What is a strange but effective way of proofreading to check for errors?

5. What makes a good first sentence?

(see the answer key)

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