1.
Maria received a D on her first college essay. What would
the authors of this textbook tell her?
A) Keep practicing and your writing skills will improve.
B) It is not likely that you will become an effective
writer.
C) Use spellcheck next time and you will get an A.
D) Try putting your thesis in the middle of the essay next
time.
Correct Answer: A
2.
Karen is experienced with giving corporate presentations.
What piece of advice would she give a junior colleague regarding his upcoming
presentation?
A) Plagiarism is fine as long as you don't get caught.
B) Headings and subheadings usually confuse the audience.
C) State your thesis early on in the presentation.
D) Parenthetical expressions help clarify your ideas.
Correct Answer: C
3.
________ communicates meaning, passion, and intensity.
A) Telepathy
B) Anonymity
C) Reason
D) Voice
Correct Answer: D
4.
Karl is drafting a summary of his argument in support of
socialized medicine. He is in what phase of writing an effective essay?
A) editing
B) prewriting
C) rewriting
D) writing
Correct Answer: D
5.
According to the text, to be a good writer, one must
A) take an advanced writing class.
B) always use MLA style.
C) only cite recognizable sources.
D) think like an effective writer.
Correct Answer: D
6.
Anna asks herself, "Which of the three primary
arguments for changing the voting age to 16 should I explain first in order to
engage and convince my audience?" She is
A) formulating a strategy.
B) not thinking about it correctly.
C) thinking tactically.
D) unclear about her purpose.
Correct Answer: C
7.
What is the purpose of persuasive writing?
A) to avoid logical reasoning
B) to circumvent a solution
C) to make the author's case
D) to evaluate an argument's soundness
Correct Answer: C
8.
You have been assigned to write an essay for your history
course. Which of the following is an example of a piece of advice the authors
of the text would give you?
A) Reserve judgment about your topic until you have
thoroughly researched it.
B) Ask your professor to come up with your thesis statement
for you.
C) Write it as if you were writing a letter to a friend.
D) Only read one or two sources while conducting your
research.
Correct Answer: A
9.
Jeff has been asked to write an article for an academic
journal. He doesn't know all of the specifics, but he can start to imagine what
the final version should be like based on
A) tactics.
B) heuristics.
C) strategy.
D) context.
Correct Answer: D
10.
Matt teaches a first-year writing course at the local
college. What does he tell his students about finding sources?
A) Read through source material before formulating your
thesis.
B) The best sources come from Google searches.
C) Never use Google to search for sources.
D) Most sources out there are credible.
Correct Answer: A
11.
Jeanne teaches writing courses at a local college. Over the
years, she's come to discover that
A) mechanics are more important than voice.
B) not all strong critical thinkers are effective writers.
C) you can never have too many thesis statements.
D) effective writers are born, not made.
Correct Answer: B
12.
Eve has been searching for credible sources online. What is
one of the criteria she should use to weed out less credible sources?
A) Can the source be found on Google?
B) Is the article in MLA format?
C) Is the source unbiased?
D) Is the source general enough?
Correct Answer: C
13.
What is one of the questions an effective writer asks?
A) How can I obscure the information?
B) Who is the intended audience?
C) How can I write this in the shortest amount of time?
D) Should I use a pencil and paper or the computer?
Correct Answer: B
14.
After reading the first chapter of a book, Jolene asks
herself, "How does the background of the author influence her
perspective?" What is Jolene in the process of doing?
A) editing the manuscript
B) identifying the author's voice
C) writing a draft
D) formatting the chapter
Correct Answer: B
15.
Which of the following is one of the four elements of a rhetorical
situation?
A) a specific mode of communication
B) an undefined audience
C) a deductive reasoning process
D) an absent author
Correct Answer: A
16.
Jason wants to write an essay on abortion. He's not quite
sure what he wants to communicate. What piece of advice would the authors of
this textbook give him?
A) You don't always need a purpose to write something.
B) Don't write if you don't know why you're writing it.
C) Good grammar is more important than communication
anyways.
D) It's your audience's job to figure out why you've written
something.
Correct Answer: B
17.
Marlene asks herself, "How will I convince my audience
that marijuana should be legalized?" What does this say about Marlene's
writing skills?
A) She does not have a strong voice.
B) She is a poor writer.
C) She is not confident in her abilities.
D) She is a purposeful writer.
Correct Answer: D
18.
Caroline wants to connect with her audience. Of the choices
listed below, what is the most important thing she can do to accomplish this?
A) Answer her audience's questions before they ask them.
B) Use extremely elevated language to impress them.
C) Appeal to her audience's core values.
D) Publish an unedited version of her book.
Correct Answer: C
19.
As an effective writer, Jillian knows that her work should
typically
A) revolve around one main idea or purpose.
B) prioritize voice over audience.
C) have 5 or more claims.
D) abandon tactics for heuristics.
Correct Answer: A
20.
The rubric for evaluating effective argumentation helps us
evaluate the ________ of the author's case.
A) marketability
B) applicability
C) conduciveness
D) effectiveness
Correct Answer: D
