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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What ability do great authors have?
(a) The ability to get an inside on reading trends.
(b) The ability to write whenever they want.
(c) The ability to ignore rules of grammar.
(d) The ability to write perfectley grammatical pieces.

2. Why does Zissner advise his clients to worry about the marketplace last?
(a) Because the marketplace always needs books and will take anything.
(b) Because nobody knows what is going to sell.
(c) Because the marketplace never changes.
(d) Writing a good piece for the marketplace is easy when they know what sells.

3. What is the main thing readers think when starting an article?
(a) They want to know how long it will take them to read the article.
(b) They want to know whether it is worth it to read the article.
(c) They want to know how soon they will find the answer to the original thesis question of an article.
(d) They want to know whether the writer is credible or not.

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

5. What should the lead in the first sentence do for a reader?
(a) It should capture the reader and force him or her to keep reading.
(b) It should introduce the article informatively and let the reader know it will be a good read.
(c) It should be very basic to hook in all types of readers.
(d) It should tell the reader very little about the article, so he or she will continue reading.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why doesn't he simply cross out clutter?

2. What is a natural inclination for writers when they start a piece?

3. What is an example of a dead language?

4. Why does he recommend starting in the preferred tense?

5. What happens when the reader loses interest in the writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. When can grammar rules be broken?

2. Why are writers fearful to insert their own opinions, ideas, and judgments in their own writing?

3. Why does Zinsser avoid using journalism as a model for good writers?

4. Who does Zinsser say are the worst writers guilty of clutter?

5. What does the surgeon in Chapter 1 think about writing?

6. What happens to the reader when he or she reads cluttered writing?

7. In what point of view should a writer start writing? Why?

8. What is unity in writing?

9. Writers are told to study the market before submitting pieces. Why is this advice irrelevant?

10. What are some examples of bad writing that has to be read?

(see the answer keys)

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