Mid-Term Exam Composition I (PM)
This is an open-book test. You may use any resource you would use when writing a paper, including your Practical Writer,notes or handouts from class
(http://word-crafter.net/CompI/ assignmentsCompI.html), and the Internet.
You will be given an answer sheet. Ten of the answers on the sheet are incorrect. Your mission: work with a partner to find and correct the errors.
True/False (all answers are worth 2 points each)
1. The writing process is called recursive because writers can go back
to earlier steps in the process at any time.
2. Trying to catch errors and polish your draft at every stage of the writing process can give you writer’s block.
3. Some writers plan their papers in advance; others just jump in. Either method can be effective.
4. When doing research, it is never OK to change your opinion if you discover new information about your topic.
5. Articles in popular magazines assume that readers have little background knowledge.
6. If you put another writer’s ideas in your own words, you should give credit to the other writer.
7. For a short quotation, your parenthetical citation should go just before the closing quotation marks.
8. With a block quotation, you do not need to use quotation marks. (If you don’t know what a block quotation is, Google for “block quotation” APA.)
9. When quoting, take no more than three words from a source without showing that you are quoting.
10. You should include degrees like M.D. and Ph.D. in your reference list entries.
Multiple Choice (1 point each)
11. APA stands for
a. Advanced Practical Assistance
b. Alarming, Protracted Agony
c. Amazing Paintballers Alliance
d. American Psychological Association
12. There are several different citation systems. APA is an example of the
a. author-date system.
b. documentary note system.
c. humanities system.
d. numbered list system.
13. All of these are good reasons to document your sources EXCEPT
a. To avoid accusations of plagiarism
b. To allow others to locate good sources you found
c. To work off the excess calories you consumed at break
d. To impress your readers with your thorough research
14. You should cite “nonrecoverable data” like interviews
a. only in an appendix.
b. only in the reference list.
c. only in parenthetical citations.
d. like everything else—in parenthetical citations and the reference list.
15. Use the information in the reference list entries below to decide which source is the most reliable.
a. Hall, B. My migraine page. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2004, from Mrs. Webster’s third grade class Web page: http://mygradeschool.k12.edu
b. Migraines: What a pain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2004, from the KidsHealth site: http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/aches/migraines.html
c. NINDS Migraine Information Page. (2003, September 5). Retrieved November 8, 2004, from the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke Web site: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_ and_medical/disorders/migraine.htm
d. Serious solutions to headache pain: Free pain relief information. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2004, from http://headaches911.tripod.com
16. One way to find a reliable article in EBSCO is to click this box:
a. PDF
b. peer-reviewed
c. Searchasaurus
d. entertainment review
If you don’t know, go to search.ebscohost.com, enter s7742687, password, select MasterFILE Premier, and look at the limiter boxes you can check.
17. If no author’s name is given for one of your sources, your reference list entry should begin with
a. the title.
b. Anonymous.
c. the date of publication.
d. the place of publication.
18. All of these are good sources for page numbers EXCEPT page numbers
a. on PDF files.
b. provided by EBSCO.
c. on a printout from your printer.
d. from a magazine containing the article.
19. Whenever you cite an article from EBSCO, you should include the
a. URL, which is http://search.epnet.com.
b. ID and password you used to gain access.
c. name and location of the Hamilton College library.
d. name of the database in which the article was found.
20. What is wrong with this citation for an Internet source?
Albrecht, G. (2003, March). The idea of democracy in Plato’s Republic. Retrieved from the Classic Greece Web site at the University of Okoboji: http:www.cg.okoboji.edu/Plato
a. The title should go before the author.
b. There should be a period after the URL.
c. The date the site was accessed is missing.
d. It is never necessary to include the sponsor of the site.
21. What information is missing from this citation for an article retrieved through EBSCO? (No author was given.)
Automobile quality surveys disagree. (2003, June 4). USA Today, M4. Retrieved July 24, 2004, from EBSCO.
a. A period after the date of access
b. The page number on which the article appeared in USA Today
c. The title of the publication in which the article first appeared.
d. The name of the database that was searched to find the article
22. If you used a book by Dr. Rise B. Axelrod and Dr. Charles C. Cooper, how should your citation in the reference list begin?
a. Axelrod & Cooper
b. Axelrod, R. B., & Cooper, C. C.
c. Axelrod, Rise B and Cooper, Charles C.
d. Axelrod, R. B., PhD, and Cooper, C., PhD.
23. Sources listed in the reference list should be organized in this order:
a. alphabetical
b. chronological
c. most recent to oldest
d. most useful to least useful
24. If you do not see an author’s name or publication date on a Web site, what should you do?
a. Assume that no information is available.
b. Check the home page and links like “About Us.”
c. Realize that you cannot use the source because you cannot document it.
d. Rejoice, because you do not have to provide documentation for this source.
25. APA style suggests that you include the name of an organization (such as CNN or Harvard University) associated with a Web site to
a. torture students trying to do Reference List entries.
b. provide free advertising for nonprofits and other worthy causes.
c. avoid lawsuits from companies trying to protect their trademarks.
d. help your readers judge the credibility of a source.
Formatting
26. The margins of an APA-style paper are
a. 1" on the cover page; 1.5" on the reference page
b. 1" on the top and bottom; 1.5" on right and left sides
c. 1" on all sides, which is the same as Word’s default margins
d. 1" on all sides, which you will need to change from Word’s default margins
27. If the title of a paper is Should Medical Professionals Take Part in Executions?, the header in the top right corner should be
a. Should Medical 1
b. Executions? 1
c. Pros and Cons of Executions 1
d. Should Medical Professionals page 1
28. The full title of a paper appears on the cover page and
a. at the top of page 2.
b. on the reference page.
c. in the header on every page.
d. nowhere else in the paper.
29. In an APA-style paper, use double-spacing
a. throughout the paper.
b. everywhere but in block quotations, which should be single-spaced.
c. everywhere but in the reference list, which should be single-spaced.
d. everywhere but in the reference list, which should have an extra space between sources.
Plagiarism
30. Read the passage about earworms below. Then decide which of the two paraphrases is plagiarized.
a. Paraphrase A is plagiarized.
b. Paraphrase B is plagiarized.
Original DeNoon, Daniel. (2003, February 27). Songs stick in everyone’s head. Retrieved November 2, 2003, from the WebMD Web site: <http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/61/67507.htmThey bore into your head. They won’t let go. There’s no known cure. Earworms can attack almost anyone at almost any time.
No, it’s not an invasion of jungle insects. It’s worse. Earworms are those songs, jingles, and tunes that get stuck inside your head. You’re almost certain to know the feeling, according to marketing professor James J. Kellaris, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati.
Nearly 98% of people have had songs stuck in their head, Kellaris reported at the recent meeting of the Society for Consumer Psychology….
“Songs with lyrics are reported as most frequently stuck (74%), followed by commercial jingles (15%) and instrumental tunes without words (11%),” Kellaris writes in his abstract. “On average, the episodes last over a few hours and occur ‘frequently’ or ‘very frequently’ among 61.% of the sample.”
Paraphrase A
They drill into your head. There’s no known cure. Songs, jingles, and tunes can get stuck inside your head anytime, any place, according to Dr. James J. Kellaris.Nearly 98% of people have had songs stuck in their head, Kellaris reported at the recent meeting of the Society for Consumer Psychology. Songs with lyrics were the most bothersome, followed by commercial jingles (WebMD, retrieved 11/2, 2003). /
Paraphrase B
Earworms, those pesky tunes that won’t go away once they get into your head, afflict almost everyone, according to Dr. James J. Kellaris. He is a marketing professor at the University of Cincinnati who just finished a study of earworms. Over 60% of his subjects said they often had earworms that lasted for several hours. According to Kellaris, “Songs with lyrics are reported as most frequently stuck” (as cited in DeNoon, 2003).Sentence Structure
Each of the following sentences is either correct, a comma splice, or a fused sentence. Select "no change" if the sentence is correct. If the sentence is incorrect, select the correctly edited version. (Use the sentence tests from the “Is This a Sentence?” handout <word-crafter.net/CompII/assignments.html >.)
31. George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia, he was raised on a farm established by his great-grandfather.
a. George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia, and he was raised on a farm established by his great-grandfather.
b. no change.
c. George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia he was raised on a farm established by his great-grandfather.
32. Washington had a big nose and a pockmarked face, however he was still considered a handsome man.
a. Washington had a big nose and a pockmarked face he was still considered a handsome man.
b. Washington had a big nose and a pockmarked face; however, he was still considered a handsome man.
c. no change.
33. Washington said this about the war for independence: "Our cause is noble; it is the cause of all mankind."
a. no change.
b. Washington said this about the war for independence: "Our cause is noble, it is the cause of all mankind."
c. Washington said this about the war for independence: "Our cause is noble it is the cause of all mankind."
34. At fifteen, Washington became a surveyor his first job was to survey the six-million-acre estate of his neighbor Lord Fairfax.
a. At fifteen, Washington became a surveyor, his first job was to survey the six-million-acre estate of his neighbor Lord Fairfax.
b. At fifteen, Washington became a surveyor; his first job was to survey the six-million-acre estate of his neighbor Lord Fairfax.
c. no change.
35. Washington held the first presidential barbecue in 1793, he roasted a five-hundred-pound ox for the party.
a. no change.
b. Washington held the first presidential barbecue in 1793 he roasted a five-hundred-pound ox for the party.
c. When Washington held the first presidential barbecue in 1793, he roasted a five-hundred-pound ox for the party.
Structure and Organization
36. The point you are trying to prove is called your
a. thesis.
b. supporting evidence.
c. causal fallacy.
d. conclusion.
37. Read the paragraph below. Then identify the second subtopic sentence:
Switzerland is breathtakingly beautiful. One reason it's beautiful is its mountain scenery, such as the area around Grindelwald, which includes two of the most famous mountains in the world: the Eiger and the Jungfrau. And Grindelwald has some really nice hotels, expensive but worth the price because of the luxury. Switzerland is also very scenic because of its cities. For example, the lovely city of Geneva has its famous lake, arching fountains, and nearby vineyards. For a visit to a land of postcard beauty, you can't go wrong with Switzerland.
a. Switzerland is breathtakingly beautiful.
b. One reason it’s beautiful is its mountain scenery....
c. And Grendelwald has some really nice hotels....
d. Switzerland is also very scenic because of its cities.
Questions 38–40 are based on the excerpt below.
The Bluewater Network, an environmental group, reports that the most common snowmobiles, those with two-stroke engines, “discharge up to one-third of their fuel unburned into the environment and are one of the largest unchecked sources of hydrocarbon pollution nationwide” (1). Bluewater Network cites numerous scientific studies linking carbon monoxide pollutants to snowmobiles. One of these studies, which was conducted in the mid-1990s after many rangers complained of dizziness and nausea, found that carbon monoxide levels at park entrances exceeded those allowed by the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (2). Clearly, such a level of pollution is a health risk to the park’s employees and to its visitors.
38. The quotation in this paragraph is attributed to
a. an anonymous reliable source.
b. a spokesperson for the park rangers.
c. the National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
d. the Bluewater Network.
39. The (1) at the end of the first sentence refers to
a. the first source in the reference list.
b. the page number on which the quotation was found.
c. a footnote at the bottom of the page.
d. a system for rating the reliability of sources, with 1 being the highest.
40. The first sentence in this paragraph is an example of a
a. thesis statement.
b. signal phrase used to introduce a source.
c. counterargument that refutes arguments against your position.
d. Claim-Support-Warrant used to show how quotations relate to your argument.
Proofreading
Choose the sentence that is correctly punctuated.
41. a. Take care that your subject and verb are in agreement.
b. Take care that your subject and verb is in agreement.
42. a. Use the apostrophe in its proper place; omit it when it’s not needed, and use it correctly with words that show possession.
b. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place; omit it when its not needed, and use it correctly with words’ that show possession.