Chapter 09 Multiple Choice Self-Quiz

. The primary advantage of the inverted-pyramid organization is that it

is a natural way of telling any story.

rarely contains any surprises for the reader.

allows the reader to stop after reading only one or two paragraphs and still get the most important information.

locks reporters into a formula and discourages innovation.

. The second paragraph of an inverted-pyramid story should

continue with the most newsworthy point, adding details and color.

start an entirely new topic.

name people, without further clarification, who are referred to in the lead.

provide background information.

. Stories that include many important subtopics often deal with these by

summarizing the most important topic or two in the lead and then mentioning others in the second paragraph.

summarizing all subtopics in the lead.

providing a vague lead that can could apply to any of the subtopics and then developing each in the story.

summarizing the most important topic and ignoring the rest.

. Which of the following is NOT one of the errors beginning news writers commonly make in the second paragraphs of inverted-pyramid stories?

They emphasize the names of sources for and subjects of the news story.

They put lots of background information in the paragraph.

They name, without elaboration, a person referred to in the lead.

They continue with additional newsworthy information about the topic summarized in the lead.

. The three parts of an hourglass story are

the inverted-pyramid top, the funnel and the base.

the inverted-pyramid top, the turn and the chronological conclusion.

the lead, the funnel and the chronological conclusion.

the chronological lead, the turn and the pyramid base.

. The advantages of the hourglass story structure are that it

puts the most newsworthy information at the end of the story where it will be best remembered.

Forces the writer to stick to the facts and not use complicated narrative devices.

puts the most newsworthy information highest but allows the writer to develop the story as a narrative.

Allows the writer to invent scenes and dialogue.

. The focus style story includes a nut graph, which

states the central point of the story and explains how the lead illustrates that point.

is always the first paragraph of the story.

is never more than one paragraph in length.

takes the reader in a wholly new direction from the lead.

. A focus story lead is often

a funny story to entice the reader to a story that may not be that interesting.

10 or 15 paragraphs long.

a one-sentence paragraph that states the story's central point.

a description or anecdote that may not be newsworthy in itself but which illustrates a larger problem.

. A news reporter writing a narrative style story writes as a playwright or a novelist would by

making up a story to suit the writer's purpose.

creating dialogue and attributing it to people.

describing how people interact with each other and their surroundings.

creating characters, events and places.

. Writers can use words or short phrases to move a story from one topic to another. Five common types of transitional words are

time, addition, causation, comparison and contrast.

time, place, purpose, goal and manner.

location, causation, meditation, regimentation and deviation.

addition, subtraction, comparison, contrast and location.

. One way reporters can explain large numbers-millions, billions and trillions-is by

converting the number from numerals to words.

converting the number into something related to everyday life.

converting the number from words to numerals.

expressing the number in scientific notation.

. Descriptions help readers visualize people and places. The best descriptions use

trite phrases and generalities.

lots of adjectives and adverbs.

exaggeration and hyperbole.

concrete, factual details.

. A good transitional sentence

presents some interesting details about the new topic.

announces that a new idea was introduced or discussed.

offers a vague generalization about the new topic.

offers the reporter's opinion about the previous topic.

. If there is humor in a news story, it should be apparent

because the writer says something is funny or humorous.

from the facts of the story.

because the writer has worked hard to inject humor into it.

from the way in which the writer exaggerated the facts.

. If a news story reports on a controversy in which one person has made accusations against another, the reporter should

include the response of the accused party in the same story.

write a separate story for the same day's paper on the accused person's response.

write a separate story for the next day on the accused person's response.

identify the accused person in only the most general terms to avoid a libel suit.

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