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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. Why is it important to narrow down a nonfiction piece?
(a) It isn't important. People just want to look at pictures anyways.
(b) One person cannot write an article about every aspect of something. That is what books are for.
(c) It isn't that important. It just sells better to magazines to be focused.
(d) Articles should not drain the writer and reader. Focusing on a corner is better than redefining an entire room.

2. What is the purpose of colons?
(a) They can be used to separate a sentance and start another without having to capitalize the first word.
(b) To start out a list of things without using list form.
(c) Colons are used to explain sentences.
(d) They are good to use in place of quotations for dialogue.

3. Good writing is ______________.
(a) Very difficult.
(b) Easy.
(c) Seen often.
(d) Easy to teach.

4. What period in U.S. history does Zissner point out as a time filled with euphemisms?
(a) The Vietnam War.
(b) Spanish Civil War.
(c) The Korean War.
(d) World War II.

5. Should exclamation points be used in serious writing?
(a) They should be sprinkled into paragraphs like salt and pepper. The more the better.
(b) They should be used sparingly. One per paragraph is fine.
(c) They should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
(d) Only serious writing has serious exclamation points. How else would people understand astonishment?

Short Answer Questions

1. Who do authors please first with their writing?

2. What is the mood or voice in a piece?

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

4. What happens when a writer writes in unclear ways?

5. What is an example of a dead language?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do you know when an article is a failure?

2. Why are rhythm and sound important in writing? What should writers do to improve this aspect of their writing?

3. Why are thesauri so good for brainstorming?

4. Why are interviews so important to an article?

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

6. What is the major problem with American writing in terms of simplicity?

7. What does Zinsser make of this distinction of fiction versus nonfiction in the literary world?

8. How much information should a writer gather before writing a piece? Why is it important?

9. Why is nonfiction now considered to be literature?

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

(see the answer keys)

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