Part -1:
Incorporating Sources Into an Essay
1. How should a writer revise the following direct quotation?
As Bill Bryson notes in the article "Walking Around Sydney," "[The scarcely used path] lent the whole enterprise the sense of a lucky discovery." (61)
Work Cited:
Bryson, Bill. "Walking Around Sydney." In a Sunburned Country. New York: Broadway Books, 2000. 61-63. Print.
Remove the author's name from either the signal phrase or parenthetical citation.
Add an in-text or parenthetical citation.
Correct the punctuation.
Add a signal phrase.
2. What is the purpose of the following summary?
Bill Bryson's article "Walking Around Sydney," from his book In a Sunburned Country, recounts an experience he had walking through the city of Sydney, Australia. Bryson takes a short cut through a park, during which he hears two dogs. Frightened of the dogs, Bryson runs from the park back into the city.
Work Cited:
Bryson, Bill. "Walking Around Sydney." In a Sunburned Country. New York: Broadway Books, 2000. 61-63. Print.
to rewrite the original article
to use the author's exact words
to describe how you feel about the article
to give an accurate and brief overview of the article, without any personal opinions
3. As Deborah Kotz relates in the article "How to Boost Your Will Power," Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal claims that hunger negatively affects self-control, so eating regularly is important.
Workes Cited:
Kotz, Deborah. "How to Boost Your Will Power." The Boston Globe. 7 Nov. 2011. Web.
direct quotation
misquotation
indirect quotation
block quotation
4. Which of the following direct quotations is correctly punctuated?
"If at first you don't succeed" Marcelene Cox said, "blame your parents."
Marcelene Cox said "If at first you don't succeed, blame your parents.
Marcelene Cox said, "If at first you don't succeed, blame your parents."
"If at first you don't succeed, blame your parents. Marcelene Cox"
5. A student chose this quote to use in an essay about current events:
" "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." George Burns
Which of the following would be the best indirect quote for the student to use?
George Burns pointed out that having a wonderful family who lives away is a key to happiness.
George Burns told us that family is the key to happiness.
Having a family who lives far away can be hard George Burns said.
George Burns stated that having a large, loving, caring family in another city is happiness.
6. Which of the following direct quotations is correctly punctuated?
My mother asked "Did you stop for gas on the commute home?"
My mother asked if I stopped for gas on the commute home.
"Did you stop for gas on the commute home?" asked my mother.
"Did you stop for gas" my mother asked, "on the commute home?"
7. Which of the following direct quotations is correctly punctuated?
"It is always a good idea to budget your money well" my father said.
"It is always a good idea," my father told me, "to budget your money well."
It is always a good idea to budget your money well.
My father told me "it is always a good idea to plan your money well."
8. Which of the following quotations from Chief Seattle's "Address" is correctly punctuated?
Work Cited:
Seattle. "Address." Jan. 1854. Speech.
"Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished" said Chief Seattle.
Respect for the land we live in, embodied by the quote "Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished," (Seattle) is something many people have today have lost.
Respect for the land we live in, embodied by the quote "Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished" (Seattle), is something many people have today have lost.
Displaying his love and respect for the land, Chief Seattle said, "Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished."
9. Which of the following direct quotations is correctly punctuated?
Truths are always better than lies.
Khaled Hossseini wrote "about truth and lies in his book."
"But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie," wrote Khaled Hosseini.
It is better to be told the truth, even if it hurts, explained Hosseini.
10. Which of the following is a signal phrase, which tells readers that quoted materials are coming?
William Zinsser makes a comparison that every gardener will recognize: "Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds-the writer is always slightly behind" (12).
Work Cited
Zinsser, William K. "Clutter." On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. 12-16. Print.
Fighting clutter
always slightly behind
William Zinsser makes a comparison
that every gardener will recognize
Part -2:
Conducting Interviews
1. How many questions should you ask at a time?
Only one -- you can ask a follow up after the response. When in doubt, go with one.
All options listed here can work; much depends on the circumstances and purposes of the interview.
Up to two is good if they're related, as in a two part question.
If you're doing the interview by e-mail, you can send several to get things started.
2. If you are writing a paper that uses an interview you conducted, are you required to state fully the question you asked when providing in your project the response?
No
Yes
3. Should you give the person you interview the chance to provide information you did ask about?
Yes, and you must include the information in your project.
No
Yes, but you are under no obligation to include it in your project.
4. How should you prepare for an interview?
Choose an appropriate location.
Explain the format and purpose of the interview before beginning.
Record the interview.
Allow time for questions from the interviewee.
All steps these steps should be followed.
5. In a formal academic paper, is it necessary to cite an interview in your works cited pages?
Yes
No
6. When discussing personal matters or sensitive information, is it o.k. to make the interviewee anonymous or to give him or her a pseudonym?
No making someone anonymous taints the research.
No, a person should be accountability for his or her actions and words.
Yes because being anonymous assures honesty.
Yes, in fact in many cases it is required for privacy and by research rules.
7. Which of the following are good guidelines for conducting an interview?
Ask one question at a time.
Show the respondent how you feel about his or her remarks.
Use only a recorder, and do not take notes while talking. Writing appears rude.
Encourage responses with a nod of the head or verbal cues.
C and D only
A and B only
All choices apply.
8. What format is best for incorporating an interview into a paper?
Paraphrasing
Direct Quoting
Summarizing
All choices can be used.
9. When should you ask fact-based questions?
You should not ask these; it makes respondents defensive.
At the beginning of the interview.
At the end of the interview.
Throughout and as needed.
10. What should you do before interviewing someone.
Give an estimate of how long you think the interview will take.
Explain the interview purpose.
Ask permission to use a recording device.
All are correct.
Part -3:Evaluating Sources
1. For the following research task, decide whether the source shown would be likely to be a reliable reference.
Research task: Explore the affect that poverty has on American society as a whole.
Source: One Nation Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All, a book by Mark Robert Rank published in 2004 in New York by Oxford University Press.
reliable
unreliable
2. For the following research task, decide whether the source shown would be likely to be a reliable reference.
Research task: Track down an objective analysis of intelligent design, a theory put forth by conservative Christians that opposes evolution in favor of the belief that humans were created by an intelligent supreme being.
Source: The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions about Intelligent Design, a book by William A. Dembski published in 2002 in Downer's Grove, Illinois, by InterVarsity Press, "the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students."
unreliable
reliable
3. For the following research task, decide whether the source shown would be likely to be a reliable reference:
Research task: Explore Muddy Waters' upbringing and how it influenced his musical style.
Source: Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters, a book by Robert Gordon published by Little, Brown in 2002.
unreliable
reliable
4. You are writing an essay exploring the life and work of Chinua Achebe and want to learn more about Achebe's views. Which of the following sources would be the better choice?
Neither choice appears reliable.
Both choices are equally good sources.
The Failure Interview: Chinua Achebe by Jason Zasky at failuremag.com/index.php/feature/article/chinua_achebe/
Chinua Achebe at https://www.gradesaver.com/author/chinua-achebe
5. You are writing a research paper exploring the pros and cons of using "marriage promotion" as a means to decrease poverty and improve families' well-being. Which source below would be a more reliable source of statistics?
The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study at www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/
The Heritage Foundation (article on marriage promotion) at www.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda0306.cfm
Neither choice appears reliable.
Both choices are equally reliable.
6. You are writing an essay about the health aspects of choosing a vegetarian diet. Which of the following sources would be a better place to get objective scientific information?
Both choices are equally good sources.
PETA Media Center: Factsheets at www.peta.org/mc/facts.asp
CBB/NCBA Human Nutrition Research Program www.in-ca.org/show.asp
Neither choice appears reliable.
7. You are writing a research paper on Sojourner Truth and want to find verifiable biographical information about her. Which of the following sources would be the better choice?
Both choices are equally good sources.
Sojourner Truth-African American Historical Figure at www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nsotrue.html
*National Women's History Museum at www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/sojourner-truth/
Neither choice appears reliable.
8. You are writing a research paper about theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis for his opposition to Hitler. Which of the following sources would be a better place to get an overview of his life and work?
Neither choice appears reliable.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer at https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/special-focus/dietrich-bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer at www.pbs.org/bonhoeffer/
Both choices are good.
9. For the following research task, decide whether the source shown would be likely to be a reliable reference.
Research task: Find recent biographical information about the writer Joan Didion.
Source: "An interview with Didion," conducted by Hilton Als and published in issue 176 (Spring 2006) of the journal The Paris Review.
unreliable
reliable
10. You are writing a research paper about the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge for a history class. You need some background on bridge aerodynamics for nonspecialists. Which site provides better information about bridge aerodynamics for you and your audience?
Mark Ketchum's Bridge Aerodynamics Page at www.ketchum.org/wind.html
Both choices are equally good sources.
Aerodynamics Laboratory Overview Page at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/labs/aerodynamics/
Neither choice appears reliable.
Part -4:MLA In Text Citation and Works Cited
1. The writer is citing pages 6-7 of an introduction to a book. The writer cites the book elsewhere in the paper. The author of the book, David Herlihy, and the author of the introduction, Samuel K. Cohn, Jr., have separate entries on the works-cited page. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
As Cohn notes, zoologist Graham Twigg has proposed that anthrax, not bubonic or pneumonic plague, was the cause of the Black Death of 1348 (6-7).
As Cohn notes, zoologist Graham Twigg has proposed that anthrax, not bubonic or pneumonic plague, was the cause of the Black Death of 1348 (Herlihy 6-7).
2. The writer has cited the article "Samsung's Next Act" by Heidi Brown and Justin Doebele. It is found on pages 18-23 of Forbes Globaldated July 26, 2004. Choose the works-cited entry that uses correct MLA style.
Brown, Heidi, and Justin Doebele. "Samsung's Next Act." Forbes Global 26 July 2004: 18-23.
Brown, Heidi, and Justin Doebele. "Samsung's Next Act." Forbes Global 26 July 2004: 18-23. Print.
3. The writer is quoting from page 12 of a book. The authors given on the works-cited page are Robert Con Davis and Ronald Schleifer. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
Davis et al. have observed that students new to the field "can easily become lost and feel as if they are overhearing a discussion in another language" (12).
As even professors of literary criticism have observed, students new to the field "can easily become lost and feel as if they are overhearing a discussion in another language" (Davis and Schleifer 12).
4. The writer is citing page 17 of an essay collected in an anthology. The author of the essay is J. R. R. Tolkien, and the editor of the anthology is Harold Bloom. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
Tolkien asks readers of Beowulf to accept "that the monsters are not an inexplicable blunder of taste; they are essential, fundamentally allied to the underlying ideas of the poem" (qtd. in Bloom 17).
Tolkien asks readers of Beowulf to accept "that the monsters are not an inexplicable blunder of taste; they are essential, fundamentally allied to the underlying ideas of the poem" (17).
5. The writer has cited an article from the Web site of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. The article, "'Motor Room' Bound to Be a Traffic Stopper" by Mary Umberger, appeared in the print edition of the paper on November 1, 1997. The writer read the online piece on May 4, 2003. The URL for the article is https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune. Choose the works-cited entry that uses correct MLA style.
Umberger, Mary. "'Motor Room' Bound to Be a Traffic Stopper." Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. 1 Nov. 1997. Web. 4 May 2003. URL: pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune
Umberger, Mary. "'Motor Room' Bound to Be a Traffic Stopper." Chicago Tribune. 1 Nov. 1997. pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune
6. The writer is citing page 99 of an essay, "The Dinosaur Rip-Off," by Stephen Jay Gould. The writer cites a second essay by Gould, "Bully for Brontosaurus," in the paper. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
Gould asks readers to consider "the aggregate mental power vested in 10 million five-year-olds, each with an average of twenty monstrous Latin dinosaur names committed to memory with the effortless joy and awesome talent of human beings at the height of their powers for rote learning" ("Dinosaur" 99).
Gould asks readers to consider "the aggregate mental power vested in 10 million five-year-olds, each with an average of twenty monstrous Latin dinosaur names committed to memory with the effortless joy and awesome talent of human beings at the height of their powers for rote learning" (99).
7. The writer is paraphrasing page 693 of a book. The authors are listed on the works-cited page as William K. Purves, David Sadava, Gordon H. Orians, and H. Craig Heller. Choose the option that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
In a hot environment, a camel's body heats up instead of sweating, and in a cold environment, its body gets cooler instead of shivering. These normal fluctuations of a camel's body temperature help it conserve energy and moisture to survive without water for days in the desert (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 693).
In a hot environment, a camel's body heats up instead of sweating, and in a cold environment, its body gets cooler instead of shivering. These normal fluctuations of a camel's body temperature help it conserve energy and moisture to survive without water for days in the desert (Purves et al. 693).
8. The writer is citing an electronic source with no page numbers. The author of the online article is Gerald Early. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
Early notes that disputed facts about Countee Cullen include "exactly where he was born, with whom he spent the very earliest years of his childhood, and where he spent them" (n.p.)
Early notes that disputed facts about Countee Cullen include "exactly where he was born, with whom he spent the very earliest years of his childhood, and where he spent them."
9. The writer is citing an electronic source with no page numbers or named author. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
The worship of the Cambodian ruler as a god "became the basis for a new Cambodian religion based first on Indian Hinduism" in the ninth century.
According to the Angkor Wat Information Pages, the worship of the Cambodian ruler as a god "became the basis for a new Cambodian religion based first on Indian Hinduism" in the ninth century.
10. he writer is quoting from page 80 of an article by Rob Walker. Choose the sentence that correctly uses MLA style to cite source material.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, notes that design is "not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works" (qtd. in Walker 80).
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, notes that design is "not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works" (Walker 80).
Part -5:
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
1. What is the primary purpose of this article?
to explain the reasons for an event
to entertain the audience
to narrate a story
to inform the audience about a topic
2. Eight of 10 questions in this quiz focus on a blog post by Deborah Kotz who covers a range of practical and interesting medical and science-related issues for the Boston Globe.
"How to Boost your Will Power"
Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal recommends the following measures to increase your willpower.
Get at least six hours of sleep a night. Just one night of sleep deprivation (less than five or six hours of sleep), can result in mild dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex, research suggests. "We turn into the worst version of ourselves," said McGonigal, and are more likely to snap at our kids, lose our concentration when driving, and pig out on junk food.
Practice slow-breathing techniques. Those who engage in formal meditation for 15 minutes a day actually add gray matter to their brain's prefrontal cortex, according to a recent study from Massachusetts General Hospital, and other studies have found that meditators exhibit higher levels of self-control. In McGonigal's book, she includes this instant willpower booster: "Slow your breathing down to four to six breaths per minute. That's 10 to 15 seconds per breath."
Do something physically challenging. Adopt a new habit, such as brushing your teeth with the opposite hand or adjusting your posture every 30 minutes, both of which have been validated in research. Or learn a new skill like rollerblading, Zumba, or ballroom dance.
Exercise every day, preferably outdoors. A 2010 review of 10 studies found that the biggest mood-boosting, stress-reducing effects of exercise came from five-minute doses. Getting active outside provided an added bonus of increased willpower in some studies, she said, possibly because being around nature reduced stress more than being indoors.
Make sure your body is well-fueled. Hunger definitely depletes self-control, so eating regular meals is key. If you're gearing up for an intense project-or are in the middle of one-having a small carbohydrate snack like an apple or a handful of pretzels can provide the brain with much needed glucose to see you through.
Source: The Boston Globe, Nov. 7, 2011. G, p. 13. © Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
What is the implied main idea of this article?
Several practices can be adopted to increase willpower.
Sleep is important for people to increase their willpower.
Meditating and relaxing are important daily practices.
Increasing your willpower will make you richer.
3. Who is most likely the intended audience for this article?
psychologists
the elderly
professional athletes
the general public
4. What type of support does the author rely on most in this article?
personal experience
expert evidence
common knowledge
data from interviews and surveys
5. Which of the following statements from the article represents an opinion?
Neither answer option represents an opinion.
Just one night of sleep deprivation (less than five or six hours of sleep) can result in mild dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex, research suggests.
Both answer options represent opinions.
Those who engage in formal meditation for 15 minutes a day actually add gray matter to their brain's prefrontal cortex, according to a recent study from Massachusetts General Hospital.
6. Which of the following statements from the article is based on fact?
Other studies have found that meditators exhibit higher levels of self-control.
A 2010 review of 10 studies found that the biggest mood-boosting, stress-reducing effects of exercise came from five-minute doses.
Neither answer option is based on fact.
Both answer options are based on fact.
7. Which of the following best describes the article?
It is an abstract of a longer work by psychologist Kelly McGonigal.
It is a critical evaluation of a longer work by psychologist Kelly McGonigal.
It is a summary of a longer work by psychologist Kelly McGonigal.
It is an original work by psychologist Kelly McGonigal.
8. According to the article, which is the most important factor in boosting willpower?
Meditation
The article does not suggest that one factor is more important than the others.
Diet
Exercise
9. Which of the following is NOT required when integrating a summary into your own paper?
Quotation marks placed around the summarized language.
A signal phrase or other language that introduces the summary.
A citation that provides the original source information from the work you are summarizing.
Follow-up language that connects the summary to your own work.
10. Which of the following is NOT required when integrating a summary into your own paper?
Quotation marks placed around the summarized language.
A signal phrase or other language that introduces the summary.
Follow-up language that connects the summary to your own work.
A citation that provides the original source information from the work you are summarizing.