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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does the "line of words" go at the end of Chapter 1?
(a) To Houston, Texas.
(b) To Venus.
(c) Out past Jupiter.
(d) To the sun.

2. Which insect is discussed in the book as part of an entomological experiment?
(a) A fly.
(b) Phataria.
(c) A butterfly.
(d) A worm.

3. What does Dillard compare writing to in the first paragraph of the book?
(a) Laying out a line of words.
(b) A dead end.
(c) An ordeal to be probed.
(d) A path to pick through.

4. What did an inchworm search for in a panic in Chapter 1?
(a) A way in which to lift its hind legs to its front legs.
(b) Its front legs.
(c) The next part of a blade of grass it was climbing.
(d) A caterpillar.

5. As explained by Dillard in Chapter 1, what must be done to a piece of writing after the first draft is finished?
(a) Delete just a few sentences.
(b) It must be mercilessly edited.
(c) Nothing; it is done.
(d) You must strike it with a hammer.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Dillard is watching symbols move on her monitor, which sends back numbers to her, what is it her job to do?

2. What do television and films do to the body's senses, according to Dillard?

3. How did Washington writer, Charlie Butts, write fiction in order to gain momentum?

4. What do experienced writers urge young men and women to learn, according to Chapter 1?

5. What happened in Bridgeport, Connecticut one morning in April, 1987?

(see the answer key)

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