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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 should writers focus on when writing travel pieces?
(a) Style and sentence structure.
(b) Substance and exaggerating adjectives.
(c) Information and substance.
(d) Style and substance.

2. Do readers generally like knowing about athletes' personal lives?
(a) Only when it pertains to athletes' outlooks on the sport.
(b) Either way, it doesn't really matter.
(c) Yes, they want all the information out there.
(d) No, they just want to see the athletes play their game.

3. Should a writer use different voices for different types of writing?
(a) No, it will make it seem like the writer has a personality disorder.
(b) No, a reader should always stick to his or her voice. No matter what.
(c) No, a writer cannot use the same voice when writing about politics and jazz.
(d) Yes. Different situations call for different voices and types of writing.

4. Why is jargon, or corporate speak, so prevalent in business writing?
(a) It is the industry standard.
(b) There is a lack of writing skills learned in college because all the focus is on business.
(c) People lose their ability to write when they take a job since they stop writing.
(d) It is prevalent because subordinates think that the executives want jargon-filled writing in order to sound more professional.

5. What is the advantage of a writer writing his or her own memoir?
(a) The writer does not have to pay attention to basic grammar rules.
(b) They are lax and impersonal.
(c) The writer does not have to do any interviews.
(d) The main subject is already known.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a memoir?

2. Do writers need to write all the time?

3. What approach to a place should writers take?

4. What advice does Zinsser give to employees who want to change business writing?

5. What was the best advice Zinsser ever received about having opinions in writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does a writer's fear of new subjects keep him from taking original and interesting projects?

2. Why is there an attitude that certain people are only meant to learn certain subjects and skills like writing or science?

3. Why should writers forget about the final product when they are writing?

4. What tense do business writer stend to use that hurts their writing?

5. Why is corporate speak the norm in business writing?

6. Why should exact details be avoided in memoirs? What approach should writers take instead?

7. Why do critics need to be well versed in the art they are writing about?

8. How does Zinsser react when editors want to change too much of his work?

9. Why do writers need to develop their own voice? How does writing compare to other art forms?

10. Explain some of the choices that writers have to take when editing?

(see the answer keys)

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