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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. Where was Gaeton Dugas from?

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

3. Howard Levanthal distributed pamphlets to seniors at what university, according to the author in Chapter 3?

4. Where is Lois Weisberg from?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe Lois Weisberg in Chapter 2?

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

3. What is the typical score for the author’s test for connectors described in Chapter 2?

4. What did early research for Sesame Street reveal?

5. What does the author use as an example to explain the Power of Context in Chapter 1?

6. What example does Malcolm Gladwell use first in Chapter 1 to illustrate his ideas? What premise does he begin with?

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

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

9. Why do connectors start trends while normal people do not, according to the author?

10. How do connectors differ from normal people, according to the author?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Baltimore’s syphilis epidemic in the 1990s. Where did the author obtain his information regarding the epidemic? What statistics are recorded regarding the outbreak? How do the author’s three rules of epidemics apply to the Baltimore epidemic?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the crime statistics in New York City and their dramatic drop from the 1980s to today. When did crime begin to decline? What experts cite changes in crack use, age and economy? When was crime at its highest point?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Paul Revere and the American Revolution. How does Gladwell describe the events of Revere’s famous ride? In what ways does Revere illustrate the power of connectors? Why, according to the author, was Revere so successful?

(see the answer keys)

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