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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. Does ZInsser give in to his editor's changes?
(a) No. He tends to fight them constantly.
(b) Yes, they are the editors after all.
(c) No, and he never gives in.
(d) Sometimes, only when they are worth it.

2. What type of memoirs does Zinsser like reading?
(a) He does not read memoirs.
(b) He likes reading immigrant memoirs.
(c) He only reads novels.
(d) He likes reading memoirs about other writers and their experiences.

3. What is an example of American television shows that use humor to talk about serious issues?
(a) The View.
(b) The Evening News.
(c) The Today Show.
(d) Saturday Night Live.

4. What approach to a place should writers take?
(a) Just writing ambiguously.
(b) Reading other travel pieces and compare them.
(c) To go around asking the locals questions.
(d) To go within a place and see how it impacts the writer.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a memoir?

2. What does the process of memoir writing do for a writer?

3. What is the advantage of a writer writing his or her own memoir?

4. What do people forget about writing?

5. What are Zinsser's four articles of faith to writing well?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is humor the most powerful tool for a nonfiction writer?

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

3. How does Zinsser feel about writing when a writer doesn't want to? Why do writers have this luxury?

4. Why are Americans scared to write about themselves?

5. How is taste involved in writing?

6. What is a major pitfall of sports writers?

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

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

9. Who does Zinsser blame when it comes to focusing on the final prize instead of the work of an article?

10. What is a strategy to making sure the above choices fit?

(see the answer keys)

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