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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What trap do journalists and editors fall into often?
(a) Using cliches and made up words.
(b) Not doing grammar checks.
(c) Usin too many dashes.
(d) Using too many commas.

2. A musician must practice scales, and a writer must practice ______________.
(a) Spelling.
(b) Grammar.
(c) Sentences.
(d) The marketplace.

3. How does a thesaurus help with brainstorming?
(a) Looking up a word leads to a list of related words and gives overal word choices and concepts.
(b) The book provides brainstorming exercises.
(c) The book gives a list of unrelated words that weeds out the bad choices.
(d) There are pictures of mindmaps within each thesaurus.

4. When does the writing start for a nonfiction article?
(a) It starts whenever the writer is ready to start.
(b) It starts before interviewing to set up the article paragraphs.
(c) It starts when the interviewing process and research is complete.
(d) It starts before the interview but after the research.

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

6. What is unity in writing?
(a) Unity is when the characters in a story are united and never disagree with one another.
(b) Unity is where the writer maintains consistency throughout an entire piece.
(c) Unity is when characters are unipolar and one dimensional.
(d) Unity is when the writer sticks to one plot.

7. Why do Americans have trouble writing?
(a) They are bad at fact checking.
(b) They are not complex enough.
(c) Their minds are too cluttered.
(d) They do too much and slack on their writing.

8. What is an example of a dead language?
(a) Chinese because it never changes.
(b) Spanish because its roots are disintegrating.
(c) Italian because there is only one country that speaks it.
(d) Latin is dead because nobody speaks it anymore.

9. What does the etymology of words mean?
(a) The sound of words.
(b) The history of words.
(c) The biology of words.
(d) The written scripts.

10. When should a writer choose the point of view in a piece of writing?
(a) A writer should determine the point of view before writing a new piece.
(b) THe point of view should be determined once the writing is finished and ready for editing.
(c) It doesn't matter when the point of view is established.
(d) The point of view can be determined after the writer figures out who will be the main character.

11. What is the response previous students have to his style of edits?
(a) They like it much better than red pen all over a paper.
(b) They say then can still see the brackets.
(c) They hated it, and have nightmares about his style.
(d) They say they never liked the highlighting.

12. What does Zissner use to highlight clutter in his students' writing?
(a) Stars.
(b) Highlighter.
(c) Underlines.
(d) Brackets

13. How rigid are the lines between proper and improper English usage?
(a) They are very rigid and one cannot cross the line.
(b) There is a grey area, though the need for proper English is most important.
(c) They are very soft, and not rigid at all.
(d) There are no lines at all. Every writer has a poetic license to do with words what he or she pleases.

14. Why does he recommend starting in the preferred tense?
(a) It brings out the natural voice.
(b) It makes it easier for people to relate to.
(c) It causes writer's to think about the reader.
(d) It creates a teacher student relationship.

15. Can a writer's style be affected to the reader?
(a) No, it has to be manipulated.
(b) No, it has to be genuine.
(c) Yes, so long as the writing is really dense.
(d) Yes, so long as the writing is filled with rich prose.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does reading aloud do for the writer?

2. What is another important characteristic of a writer?

3. What makes a good first sentence?

4. What are the best aspects of a good story?

5. What is the old view of nonfiction?

(see the answer keys)

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