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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. According to King, what is the second condition that, if readers cannot accept, should be a reason to stop reading his book?
(a) That fame and fortune are fleeting.
(b) That the writing is drudgery.
(c) That writing is a serious job with inexplicable aspects.
(d) That writing will probably not make a lot of money for the reader.

2. What is a major theme in the second chapter of King's book?
(a) The writer's life.
(b) The importance of studying grammar and vocabulary.
(c) Reasons or motivations for writing.
(d) The necessity of studying other authors.

3. What is King's overall opinion on writing as a profession?
(a) It is serious and straightforward.
(b) It is humorous.
(c) It is frivolous.
(d) It is didactic.

4. What is the location of the first item mentioned in the image?
(a) Over a counter.
(b) In a chair.
(c) On the floor.
(d) On a table.

5. What is the name of the second chapter of this book?
(a) On Living.
(b) On Writing.
(c) What Writing Is.
(d) Writing My Way.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many specific facts are provided by King about the entire image in the second chapter?

2. What happens to Carrie when King sends it off to the publisher?

3. To which substance is King first addicted as a young man?

4. Of the details King has supplied the reader regarding his image in the second chapter, what does King hope the reader will primarily focus on?

5. Where does King get a job to help pay for college?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Tabitha King's intervention in her husband's addictions, King insisted on moving his desk. How was this symbolically important to him?

2. In what ways is the rabbit on the table of symbol of King's belief in magic and telepathy? Explain in your own words.

3. When King asks the writer to accept 'the magic of writing, but to take it seriously', what is he saying?

4. One of King's babysitters was particularly cruel. How might she have affected his later writings?

5. What inferences can you make from King's statement that writing is magic? Explain in your own words.

6. How did King learn to edit his work? Why was this important to the young writer?

7. Why does King write? Explain in your own words based on the chapters, C.V., and What Writing Is.

8. What conclusions can you draw from King's comparison of writing as a career versus writing as a passion? Explain in your own words.

9. In a short paper, summarize the main points of King's life as an author.

10. In what way is the book, On Writing, to be different from King's usual work?

(see the answer keys)

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