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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. When does Korean Airline flight 801 crash?

2. Where is Harlan?

3. Where does it crash?

4. What is Joe Flom's occupation?

5. What grade level is the school?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Harlan gain notoriety in its early days?

2. How does PDI explain the crash of the Colombian airliner?

3. What are proxy wars?

4. What is Gladwell's general premise about the connection between growing rice and the success of Asian peoples?

5. Why doesn't Joe Flom work for a large, prestigious law group when he graduates from law school?

6. What is the second part of the experiment and the final result?

7. What experiment do Dov Cohen and Richard Nisbett conduct in the 1990s?

8. Where is Harlan, and who settled it?

9. How do the students at KIPP Academy differ from those of other public schools?

10. What does Gladwell say about early American educational theorists?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gladwell in writing about Joe Flom cites anti-Semitism as part of the reason for Joe's success. Discuss one of the following:

1. Define anti-Semitism and give examples of it from both Outliers and other sources.

2. Do you think anti-Semitism still exists in the United States? Explain.

3. Discuss the ways in which racism influenced Malcolm Gladwell's family. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

There are a number of interesting questions raised by Outliers. Questions that Gladwell most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Gladwell' agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Gladwell' probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Gladwell and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing.

Essay Topic 3

Gladwell measured things such as to what extent the people of a country trust and follow authority, and with what degree of willingness. This measurement is called the "Power Distance Index" or PDI. Countries like the United States have a low PDI, meaning that people interact with figures of authority without much deference and are ready to challenge authority when the situation calls for it. Countries like South Korea and Colombia have a high PDI, meaning that they recognize many levels of authority in a cultural hierarchy and are reluctant to challenge authority.

1. Why do you think recognizing many levels of authority in a cultural hierarchy might influence a person to not challenge authority? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Give an example, not discussed in Outlier, and discuss, in depth, where challenging authority would have a negative result. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Give an example, not discussed in Outlier, and discuss, in depth, where challenging authority would have a positive result. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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