These Academic Writing multiple-choice questions and their answers will help you strengthen your grip on the subject of Academic Writing. You can prepare for an upcoming exam or job interview with these Academic Writing MCQs.
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A. after the abstract, but before the body of the work begins
B. in the appendices
C. before the work's conclusion
D. at the end of the work
A. author and publisher
B. author and publication date
C. title and author
D. title and page number
A. Martel, Y. (2001, Harcourt). Life of Pi: A novel.
B. Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: A Novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001. Print.
C. Martel, Y. Life of Pi: A novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001.
D. Martel, Y. (2001). Life of Pi: A novel. New York: Harcourt.
A. Acknowledgements
B. Debate
C. Index or Indices
D. Analysis
A. in full, so that they are fully dispatched by the end of your paper.
B. respectfully and with some brevity
C. at length, and at each phase of your argument
D. never
A. a short statement of the main point
B. an explanation of the importance of the argument
C. a "hook" to capture the reader's attention
D. a restatement of the most important evidence
A. results
B. abstract
C. literature review
D. conclusion
A. allowing colleagues or classmates to use ideas from one's own work
B. reusing one's own work; for instance, by submitting the same paper to two classes
C. deliberately misrepresenting the meaning of a quotation from a source
D. directly quoting oneself, as if to imply one is an expert
A. abstract, introduction, background, results, discussion, conclusion, references
B. background, introduction, abstract, results, discussion, conclusion, references
C. introduction, abstract, background, results, discussion, references, conclusion
D. abstract, introduction, discussion, results, background, references, conclusion
A. information within the public domain
B. paraphrasing
C. a popular quotation
D. common knowledge
A. a thesis statement appearing at or very near the beginning of the work
B. a 'results' section at the end of the paper, with all relevant experimental data
C. no fewer than three large divisions within the work
D. a description of experiments performed
A. length: the thesis statement is always longer than the abstract
B. length: the abstract is always longer than the thesis statement
C. scope: the first summarizes the entire work, while the second clearly states the work's main purpose
D. scope: the second summarizes the entire work, while the first clearly states the work's main purpose
A. verbatim copying of another person's writing without citation constitutes plagiarism
B. plagiarism is always the result of deliberate dishonesty
C. paraphrasing the ideas of another person constitutes plagiarism
D. ideas from course lectures or discussion sections don't require citation
A. not providing a citation for assertions that are common knowledge
B. providing citations for works not directly quoted in your writing
C. providing citations acknowledging contributions by colleagues or classmates
D. not providing a citation for an online source without a clear author
A. formal, impersonal
B. formal, imperious
C. formal, personal
D. informal, impersonal
A. True
B. False
A. the inverted pyramid
B. the appropriate structure depends on the assignment and topic
C. the cause-and-effect model
D. the five-paragraph essay
A. an interpretation of the meaning of a symbol in "The Great Gatsby"
B. the name of the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
C. a long direct quotation from Shakespeare's "King Lear"
D. a scholar's opinion of the efficacy of the Voting Rights Act
A. as the first sentence
B. in the first paragraph
C. after previewing the evidence
D. in the conclusion
A. failing to cite an appropriate source
B. citing an inappropriate source
C. citing a source too much
D. citing a source whose authorship cannot be determined
A. colloquiality
B. opacity
C. clarity
D. formality
A. a "hook" to capture the reader's attention
B. a condensed summary of the entire work
C. a restatement of the most important evidence
D. a preface or introduction
A. Use a more personal, less objective voice
B. Place less emphasis on a clear, linear line of development from one section to the next
C. Use a less personal, more objective voice
D. Use fancier words.
A. Plagiarism involves using someone else's work without attribution, while copyright infringement involves using someone else's work without permission.
B. Plagiarism is the least severe form of copyright infringement.
C. Plagiarism is a legal violation, while copyright infringement is an ethical violation.
D. Plagiarism is always copyright infrigement, but copyright infringement is not always plagiarism.
A. abstract
B. results
C. references
D. methodology
A. by not mentioning them; doing so would weaken your argument
B. by dismissing them before you begin your own argument
C. by listing them in a separate appendix
D. by acknowledging them and rebutting their claims
A. data and statistics
B. computer code
C. (All of these)
D. written text
A. colleagues
B. buddies
C. extremely important colleagues
D. extremely important buddies
A. be as florid as possible
B. use language that reflects the historical prominence of the relevant universities or colleges.
C. use as sophisticated vocabulary as possible
D. be as clear and direct as possible
A. one that relies on historical analysis
B. one that develops a novel argument
C. one that focuses on an experiment or other primary research
D. one that lacks any other citations
A. a thesis statement that makes a claim
B. evidence to support a claim
C. an acknowledgment of opposing views
D. (All of these)
A. (All of these)
B. colloquial language
C. contractions
D. abbreviations
A. folksy and verbose
B. pretentious and stylized
C. impassioned and emotional
D. objective and confident
A. unfurled
B. put on display
C. published
D. put out
A. Jargon and technical terms should be used when appropriate for precision and authority.
B. Jargon and technical terms should be used in the body of the writing, but never in an introduction or conclusion.
C. It should be avoided; only vocabulary that will be familiar to the average person should be used.
D. Technical language should be used as frequently as possible, to demonstrate your mastery of the subject.
A. methodology
B. literature review
C. introduction
D. works cited
A. reasoning from general premises to a specific conclusion
B. reasoning from specific information to broader conclusions
A. a thesis statement can appear anywhere in the work; a topic sentence must be at the beginning of a paragraph
B. the work as a whole has a thesis statement; each paragraph has a topic sentence
C. there can be many thesis statements, but only one topic sentence
D. the thesis statement is implied and abstract; the topic sentence is the literal statement of the thesis
A. place of publication
B. page count
C. publisher
D. title and edition number (if any)
A. (None of these)
B. A Works Cited list is considered more formal than a Bibliography.
C. APA style calls for "Works Cited"; MLA style calls for "Bibliography."
D. A Works Cited list includes only references that are cited in the text, while a Bibliography includes all sources consulted.
A. never copying down direct quotations
B. focusing on secondary sources
C. keeping careful track of sources
D. using the Cornell method for note-taking
A. Mozart's work contains many masonic symbols.
B. The masonic symbols within Mozart's works reveal a subtler, politically-minded artist than was originally thought.
C. Mozart was a great composer.
D. The masonic symbols in Mozart's work are significant in understanding his beliefs.
A. (None of these)
B. when the material is in the public domain (no longer under copyright)
C. when the material is freely available online
D. when the purpose of the copying satisfies the tests for fair use
A. MLA
B. APA
C. Chicago
D. Bluebook
A. Friedman, H. S. (Ed.). (1990). Personality and disease. New York.
B. H.S. Friedman (Ed.). Personality and disease. New York: Wiley.
C. Friedman, H.S. (Ed.). Personality and disease. New York: Wiley.
D. Friedman, H. S. (Ed.). (1990). Personality and disease. New York: Wiley.
A. the departmental faculty of one specific field, within one institution or more than one institutions within a geographical area
B. an event or conference where scholars can come together and discuss developments in their field
C. (none of these)
D. a group of scholars who are primarily engaged and interested in a given field
A. Author and year; Author page no.; Author and publisher, Author and title
B. Author, year, page no.
A. "http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Criminal-Investigation-Issues-Annual-Report" March 2014
B. United States Internal Revenue Service. "IRS Criminal Investigation Issues Annual Report." Irs.gov. Accessed 10 March 2014. http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Criminal-Investigation-Issues-Annual-Report.
C. "IRS Criminal Investigation Issues Annual Report" irs.gov 2014 Web 10 Mar 2014
D. US IRS: "IRS Criminal Investigation Issues Annual Report," irs.gov, http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Criminal-Investigation-Issues-Annual-Report
A. MLA style calls for "Works Cited"; APA style calls for "References."
B. (None of these)
C. A Works Cited list is considered more scientific than References.
D. A Works Cited list is only appropriate in legal and medical contexts.
A. MLA requires a bibliography, while Chicago calls for a list of works cited.
B. MLA generally uses parenthetical citations, while Chicago generally uses footnotes or endnotes.
C. MLA is more appropriate for scholarly use.
D. MLA is more focused on date of publication, while Chicago emphasizes authorship.