Citation

Citation Quiz

(based on information in The Everyday Writer)

• When do you choose to quote, rather than paraphrase, a source? (circle one)
• a. When you don’t understand what the author is saying.
• b.Any time you plan to cite a source in your paper (i.e. always).
• c.When an author’s wording is so memorable or expresses a point so well that you cannot improve or shorten it without weakening it.
• d. When you are too tired to think of another way of saying what the book says.
  
• What does an ellipsis (…) in a quotation mean?
  
• What does a pair of brackets ([ ]) in a quotation mean?
  
• If you are paraphrasing a source rather than quoting, what percentage of the words of your paraphrase can be borrowed from the author without being considered plagiarism?
  
• A summary (choose one):
• a. is about the same length as the original text
• b. contains quotations
• c. will never be useful for a college-level research paper
• d. briefly captures the main ideas of a source in your own words
  
• Which of the following would be common knowledge, and would not need to be cited (mark with a C):
• The fact that the first president of America was George Washington.
• The number of bills Washington signed into law in his first term.
• The date of George Washington’s death.
• The fact that Washington wore wooden false teeth.
• The name of the dentist who made the wooden false teeth for Washington.
  
• Which of the following uses of information must you always cite in your research, without fail, or risk being accused of plagiarism (mark all that apply):
• a. direct quotations
• b. facts your reader may not know
• c. questionable assertions
• d. others’ opinions
• e. statistics
• f. charts, tables and graphs
• g. help from friends
• h. help from instructors
• i. help from on-line chat room participants

Developed by Lara B. Whelan, University of Delaware