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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. How does King's mother die?

2. Whom does King meet while in college?

3. What does the second chapter open with King presenting to the reader?

4. According to King, what is the second condition that, if readers cannot accept, should be a reason to stop reading his book?

5. How can the book, On Writing, be described?

Short Essay Questions

1. Based on the chapters, C.V., and What Writing Is, what ideas justify King's statement that writing is a serious job?

2. What facts or ideas show the beginnings of King's career as a master of horror?

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

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

5. How would you summarize the different jobs King had during his early career? How might these jobs have influenced his work?

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

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

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

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

10. What are some of the things King remembers from his childhood? How might they have affected his writing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What factors led to the publication of Carrie? Why do you think the novel was a success? Use ideas from the text to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Based on the book, On Writing, what is the most important item in the writer's toolbox? Why is this important? Support your argument with ideas from the text.

Essay Topic 3

What factors in King's childhood and young adulthood influenced his writing? Was King's brother Dave an important influence in King's writing career? Which factors determined the type of writing he does? Give specific examples from the book to support your claims.

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