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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 problem does a scientist have when writing about science?

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

3. What is a misconception about writers and scientists?

4. Do writers need to write all the time?

5. What type of memoirs does Zinsser like reading?

Short Essay Questions

1. Should sports writers add their opinions in sports articles?

2. What is a major pitfall of sports writers?

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

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

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

6. Does Zinsser think that scientists can write?

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

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

9. Why is bad to fall into cliches when travel writing?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What was your definition of literature before reading this book? Has it changed or is it the same? Explain why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

Change the rhythm of the following two sentences to a more accurate rhythm based on the words:

They walked slowly. The cars zoomed past them in an endless glow of white and red lights as they elongated their glides.

Answer: The first sentence should be elongated to give a slow pace to the sentence. The second sentence should be short and crisp. The words can be exchanged between sentences.

Essay Topic 3

What do you think about Zinsser's point of view on the audience? Who does he feel is more important? Do you agree that a writer should ignore their potential audience and focus solely on pleasing themselves first? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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