Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 4: Basic Media Writing
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. One of the primary things media writing demands of you is ______.
A. accuracy
B. education
C. entertainment
D. autonomy
2. If you inaccurately report information, your ______ will suffer because people will not
be able to trust you.
A. credence
B. credibility
C. credulity
D. focus
3. In a media setting, you want your writing to be ______.
A. long
B. medium
C. short
D. unwieldy
4. Your job in this field is to ______.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
A. say what you mean in as fancy as way as possible
B. don’t say what you mean
C. use a lot of words with hidden meanings
D. say what you mean as simply and clearly as possible
5. Active voice requires you to write ______.
A. in the noun–verb–object format
B. in the object–noun–verb format
C. slowly
D. abstractly
6. The ______ and ______ of a piece will determine how well it reads.
A. length; style
B. pace; flow
C. content; interest
D. interest; attitude
7. Get the most important information to your readers as ______ as possible.
A. slowly
B. deliberately
C. quickly
D. leisurely
8. The inverted pyramid style of writing tells a story in ______.
A. small bits and pieces
B. long passages
C. ascending order of importance
D. descending order of importance
9. The ______ of an inverted pyramid piece is meant to capture as much important
information as possible.
A. lead
B. loop
C. nut graph
D. caption
10. Leads traditionally have a focus on ______.
A. your editor/producer
B. the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a piece
C. your publisher
D. society at large
11. Look for the ______ core of your sentence and write that first.
A. “where did it happen”
B. “what happened to whom”
C. “who did what to whom”
D. “when did it happen”
12. The length of the average lead for an inverted pyramid piece should be about
______.
A. 5–10 words.
B. 10–15 words.
C. 15–20 words.
D. 25–35 words.
13. A(n) ______ lead summarizes what happened and explaining why it matters to your
readers.
A. summary
B. name-recognition
C. interesting action
D. event
14. A(n) ______ lead puts the famous person’s name at the front of the lead.
A. summary
B. name-recognition
C. event
D. second-day
15. The “what” is more intriguing than the “who” when it comes to which type of lead?
A. summary lead
B. event lead
C. interesting action lead
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. second-day lead
16. The ______ leads are also helpful when you have multiple people involved in
something and none of them are well known.
A. second-day
B. summary
C. event
D. interesting action
17. When you write a(n) ______ lead, focus on what happened at the event, not the
event itself.
A. event
B. summary
C. second-day
D. interesting action
18. You want to give your readers the most recent information at the ______ of
whatever you are writing.
A. middle
B. top
C. bottom
D. end
19. Newspapers tend to avoid ______, as reporters see this as sacrificing their
objectivity.
A. I
B. me
C. you
D. them
20. ______ leads often fail because they presuppose that all of your readers would
answer in the same way.
A. Imagine
B. Quote
C. You
D. Question
21. You shouldn’t make ______ the focal point of your lead.
A. quotes
B. facts
C. time
D. conflict
22. ______ leads can be problematic if your readers aren’t imagining what you are
imagining.
A. You
B. Imagine
C. Quote
D. Question
23. As you determine value for each fact, you should consider your audience’s ______.
A. age
B. gender
C. needs and interests
D. location
24. The inverted pyramid has you put your information into a(n) ______ order of
importance.
A. descending
B. ascending
C. pointless
D. incorrect
1. One of the primary things media writing demands of you is accuracy.
2. In a media setting, you want your writing to be long.
3. You need to find the right word to make your point and use it in a straightforward
manner.
4. Active voice requires you to write in the object–verb–noun format.
5. The pace and flow of a piece will determine how well it reads.
6. Get the most important information to your readers as slowly as possible.
7. Writing in inverted pyramid style means writing the most important thing first, and
then move to the second most important thing and then the third most important thing
and so forth.
8. The inverted pyramid can also be used as a guide to determine what information you
have and what you need.
9. You should not include everything that would matter to people in the lead.
10. Just because something has the 5W’s and 1H in there, it doesn’t necessarily follow
that you have a good lead.
11. The core of a sentence comes down to the direct object and the verb.
12. The length of the average lead for an inverted pyramid piece should be about 25–35
words.
13. Summary leads are helpful when you have multiple people involved in something
and none of them are well known.
14. Leads for inverted pyramid stories that rely on the 5Ws and 1H are usually called
summary leads.
15. The more well-known someone is, the less likely that person’s name will draw
readers.
1. What are the “Killer Be’s” of good writing?
2. What is the inverted pyramid style of writing?
3. How can the inverted pyramid be used after you have finished your writing?
4. How do you build a good lead?
5. What kinds of leads should you avoid writing?
1. What are the “killer be’s” of good writing?
2. What is the inverted pyramid?
3. How can you write a good lead?
4. List and describe some different types of leads.
5. How do you order the rest of your pyramid?
