English Test Chapter 21

Focuses and guides the research project.

A research question:

Specifying what the question is about

A student is writing a research question. What should his/her first step be?

Updates are sometimes made to the MLA style guide.

Why is it important to consult a recent MLA style guide before you begin formatting your paper?

Because often the information can be changed by the public

Why is the information on a Wiki not always reliable?

Citations should be listed in the order in which they appear in your paper.

All of the following criteria are indicative of a properly-formatted MLA Works Cited page EXCEPT:

Jones (2014) describes him as 'impatient' (p. 46).

Which of the following is NOT an example of correct MLA citation? (Assume that for all examples, the page numbers are correct)

Finding general information on a topic

What are browser searches, blogs and Wikis best used for in research?

Modern Language Association

What does MLA stand for?

The year of publication is not necessary; it should be Thompson (12) to reference the page number.

Consider the following: This argument was emphasized by Thompson (1992:12). Why is this NOT a correct way to format an MLA in-text citation, and how should it be properly cited?

Use the title of the book, e.g. (Wright, Native Son 135).

In your paper, you're citing two different books by Richard Wright. You're using MLA format. How would you distinguish between the two books in your in-text citations?

(p. 314)

This sentence is referring to an imaginary book titled The Truth About Supplements by a woman named Alicia Jones. The book was published in 2011. Fill in the blank in APA format: According to Jones (2011), many dietary supplements are contaminated with wheat, rice, and even illegal drugs _____

Summarizing

What is it called when written information is transferred from the writer's words into a very short summary?

Paraphrasing

What writing skill condenses information and includes detail, while not being concerned about length?

Quotation

What writing skill takes word for word information from a source and gives credit to the original writer?

This is an example of correct APA citation formatting.

Which of the following is true of this sentence: One author refers to the scandal as a 'non-event,' claiming it was blown out of proportion by the media to increase viewership during a slow news week (Kirkland, 1995, p. 47).

The content is current, both sides are presented, and the information has been peer-reviewed.

How does a reader feel confident that the information in a source is reliable?

Databases and Archives

Where can the most trusted online sources be found?

One-sided opinion statements are used

Which aspect of a source suggests that it should NOT be used as part of academic research?

It helps in choosing a topic for research.

Which of the following is NOT a reason why formulating a research question is one of the first steps in a research project?

The title of the page should be in all capital letters and underlined.

Which of the following is NOT a standard formatting requirement for an MLA-style paper?

The fact that the sigmoid colon is the last part of the large intestine

Which of the following would you need to cite in a paper?

Summarize the author's conclusions in a much shorter paragraph and give credit to the original writer.

You are writing a paper and have located an excellent resource on the topic in a journal article. You want to incorporate just the key points into your report in your own words. What should you do in this situation?

You stole someone else's work and portrayed the work as your own when writing the paper.

You spend many hours researching and writing a paper for a class. But then you inserted a few paragraphs from a magazine article near the end of the paper because everyone knows the professor won't read the whole thing. After you turn your final paper in, the professor does not return your paper with a grade but asks you to see her after class is finished. What is most likely her concern?

It makes the question too broad.

Your research question is 'Do violent people watch violent television, and do nonviolent people watch nonviolent television?' We decide to remove 'do nonviolent people watch nonviolent television?' from this question. Why?

The question is too broadly focused.

Your research question is: 'What is the effect of television viewing on Americans?' What is the PROBABLE reason that this question would need some revision.