STEPHEN KING

Reading to Write

These multiple-choice questions refer to paragraphs 1 – 8.

1. The connection between paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 is that

a) Paragraph 1 begins an argument and paragraph 2 qualifies it.
b) Paragraph 1 uses hyperbole and paragraph 2 shows a limited application of
it.
c) Paragraph 1 is hypothetical and paragraph 2 is realistic.
d) Paragraph 1 makes two claims and paragraph 2 supports the second.
e) Paragraph 1 makes a claim and paragraph 2 furthers the author’s ethos in
support of it.

2. Paragraph 3 does all of the following EXCEPT

a) establish that King’s appreciation of writing began when he was young
b) recommend Leinster’s novel to the reader
c) support a claim made in paragraph 2
d) identify some standards of good writing
e) imply that reading can have lasting effects on a writer

3. According to paragraph 4, Leinster’s novel “was an important book” to King primarily

because it
a) showed him what to avoid in his own writing
b) was the first book that ignited his interest in writing
c) made him aware that other writers struggled with the same challenges he
faced
d) built his confidence in how own skills
e) reinforced his interest in science-fiction writing

4. In the context, “goading” (par. 6) means

a) urging
b) asking
c) pleading
d) demanding
e) insisting

5. “Being swept away by a combination of great story and great writing—of being
flattened, in fact—is part of every writer’s necessary formation” (par. 6) contains an
example of
a) simile
b) mixed metaphor
c) allusion
d) synecdoche
e) understatement
6. In the context, paragraph 7 functions as both
 a) evidence and analysis
b) an admonition and an encouragement
c) a summary and a transition
d) a claim and a qualifier
e) a direct address and an objective statement

7. King refers to Bradbury, Cain, and Lovecraft in paragraph 8 primarily to

a) identify his favorite writers and recommend them to the reader
b) show the dangers of falling under the influence of any writer
c) develop his ethos as a writer and as a reader
d) imply that Lovecraft was more important to him than Bradbury or Cain
e) reinforce a point he makes in the paragraph’s first sentence

8. If King were to divide paragraph 8 into two paragraphs, the most logical place to begin
the second paragraph would be with which of the following sentences?
a) “I wrote stories in my teenage years . . .”
b) “It’s hard for me to believe . . .”
c) “This sort of stylistic blending . . .”
d) “You have to read widely . . .”
e) “If I had a nickel . . .”

9. Paragraph 8 contains all of the following EXCEPT

a) rhetorical question
b) parenthetical comments
c) sentence fragment
d) use of the second person
e) simile

10. The tone of King’s comment “If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she
wanted to be become a writer but ‘didn’t have time to read,’ I could buy myself a pretty
good steak dinner,” is best described as
a) wishful
b) earnest
c) derogatory
d) bemused
e) querulous

Questions on Rhetoric and Style

1. “Reading to Write” might not seem to be literature—it’s nonfiction and informational

rather than creative—but it’s well written. Make some observations about the way it is
written—King’s word choices, the kind of voice he uses, the kinds of stories he tells—
and consider what you might learn, as a budding writer, from reading it. Please be
sincere and thorough in your response.