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. The author points out that the outbreak of syphilis in Baltimore slowed during what season?

2. In Chapter 2, Gladwell explains the Law of the Few, which he splits further into three classes of people. Which is the first of these?

3. In what year was Kitty Genovese stabbed to death?

4. What was the nickname of Darnell McGee?

5. What advertising agent for Columbia Record Club increased the stickiness of his ads simply by drawing a link between televised and print ads?

Short Essay Questions

1. What saying from the business world does the author employ to describe connectors in Chapter 1?

2. Early in television's history, few people believed TV held any educational value. Who was the first to challenge this and why?

3. What example does Gladwell use first in illustrating a super-connector in Chapter 2?

4. How would you describe the voice and tone of the Introduction to the book?

5. How does the author describe Tom Gau? What does Gau do?

6. How does the author use cigarettes to illustrate the Stickiness Factor in Chapter 1?

7. Who was Gaeton Dugas? What was his role in the spread of HIV?

8. What test did the author develop to determine a person’s likelihood to be a connector?

9. What is illustrated by the author’s first example in the introduction?

10. What study did Howard Levanthal conduct? How are his pamphlets described?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Tom Gau, Brian Mullen, Peter Jennings, and Howard Friedman. What did researchers discover about the influence Peter Jennings had on presidential elections during the 1980s? What are examples of newscasters today who share this influence? How are mavens illustrated by these examples?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the success of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and the author’s attribution of that success to the power of small groups. How do small groups serve to influence the larger population? How does Rebecca Wells’s novel lend itself to book clubs?

Essay Topic 3

Define and discuss the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. How do these rules apply to different situations than disease? How does the author use the three rules to explain the resurgence of Hush Puppies shoes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 765 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample