View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When a writer sees an image in his/her head and writes it down, what is he accomplishing in regards to the reader?

2. The change that King made in his writing life after his wife's intervention is seen by King as a symbol. What does this symbol represent?

3. What is one of King's last jobs before becoming a full-time writer?

4. What does King suggest that readers who do not take writing seriously do?

5. What does one of King's babysitters do to him?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What are some of the aspects of writing that King is not going to emphasize in the chapter, What Writing Is?

4. What relationship is there between writing as a career and writing as a passion? Explain in your own words.

5. Why does King want his readers to put his book down if they are unable to accept that writing is magic?

6. Can you explain how King created the character of Carrie and why he disliked her so?

7. King believed that writing is telepathy. What is telepathy in the context of this statement?

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

9. In what way is the chapter, What Writing Is, different from the usual book on writing?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When King says there are some elements of writing that are highly unexplainable, what is he trying to say? King also claims writing is magic. What evidence can you find in the book, On Writing, that writing is magic? Defend your answer with specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

How is writing as a passion different from writing as a career? What ideas in this text justify King's statement?

Essay Topic 3

Do you think a writer can learn to 'see' and write about what he sees from images such as the one King presented of a rabbit in a cage on a table? How can writing exercises like this one lead to better writing? Explain your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,079 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample