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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the transaction in writing?

2. Why does Zissner advise his clients to worry about the marketplace last?

3. Why do journalists need to perfect uncluttered writing?

4. Who are two authors that Zissner admires for solid writing and ornamentation?

5. What group of people does the author think has the worst type of writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. When can grammar rules be broken?

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

3. What does the craft of writing consist of?

4. What are Zinsser's thoughts on the writing profession?

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

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

7. Why are thesauri so good for brainstorming?

8. Why does Zinsser use brackets on students' papers?

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

10. What skills does an interviewer need to possess?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rewrite the following sentence into three good leads: The cat jumped onto the fence.

Essay Topic 2

Rewrite the following sentence into an ending sentence and the first sentence in the following paragraph: The car drove off the cliff. Make it compelling. Make the reader want to keep on reading.

Ex: Ending Sentence: The car sped off the cliff. First sentence next paragraph: They all survived.

Essay Topic 3

When choosing a style of writing, what do you look for first? Do you think about the tone you want to have, the overall feel of the article, the way you want the reader to receive the article? Explain your thought process on approaching style.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 730 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample