Answer:
Answer explained below.
Step-by-step explanation:
Note - I am solving the first 5 questions.
1.
In "Why I Write," Joan Didion explains that she stole the title of her essay from George Orwell's essay of the same name because she found it an "enormously suggestive" phrase (paragraph 1). She wanted to explore the question of why writers write, and Orwell's title seemed to encapsulate that idea perfectly. Didion acknowledges that Orwell's essay was not the only inspiration for her own; she also mentions Henry James's preface to "The Ambassadors" and her own personal experiences as a writer. However, she uses Orwell's title as a starting point for her own reflections on the writing process.
Evidence: "The title "Why I Write" attracted me because I was interested in the larger question. Why do writers write? And in particular, why do I write?" (paragraph 1)
2.
Joan Didion describes her experience as an English major at UC Berkeley as somewhat unsatisfying. She writes that she did not learn much about writing during her time there and that her education was focused more on literary criticism than on the craft of writing itself. She also notes that her interest in writing was seen as somewhat unconventional for a woman at the time.
Evidence: "At Berkeley in the 1950s, when I was an undergraduate, the requirements for the English major were severe, and the prerequisites daunting. [...] I was not in love with the idea of being a journalist, nor was I particularly in love with the idea of being an academic, but I was in love with the idea of being a writer. I did not decide to be a writer. I discovered I was one" (paragraph 3).
3.
When Joan Didion writes "Grammar is a piano I play by ear" (paragraph 9), she means that she has an intuitive sense of how to use grammar and syntax, rather than a strictly rule-bound approach. She believes that "good writing" has a certain rhythm to it, and that her ear for that rhythm is more important than strict adherence to grammatical rules. She cites Ernest Hemingway and Henry James as examples of writers who had a similar approach to grammar.
Evidence: "I am a writer who came of a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within. [...] Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon" (paragraph 9).
4.
The definition of "abstract" that most closely matches the meaning of the word in the text is "a theoretical concern or consideration about something." In the essay, Didion writes about her own abstract ideas about writing and the role of the writer in society, rather than concrete details of her life or specific events.
Explanation: Didion's essay is largely concerned with her own reflections on the writing process and her own reasons for writing. She is not writing about specific events or concrete details, but rather about abstract ideas and concepts related to writing. Therefore, the definition of "abstract" as a "theoretical concern or consideration about something" is the most applicable.
5.
In paragraph 20, "coalesce" means to come together or merge. Didion is using the word to describe how her ideas and thoughts about writing come together to form a cohesive whole. She believes that writing is not just about individual sentences or paragraphs, but about creating a unified whole out of disparate parts.
Explanation: Didion writes that her writing process involves taking individual sentences and then "trying to make them coalesce, to give them some shape and order" (paragraph 20). By using the word "coalesce," she is describing the process of bringing together individual elements to create a cohesive whole.
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