Grade 8 ELA Practice Test: Research Skills, Credible Sources and Plagiarism
- Research Skills: Sources and Plagiarism
- 10 questions
- 12 minutes
These 10 questions practice the skills behind a good research report, from choosing a question to giving credit to sources. Tip: a credible source tells you who wrote it, when, and where the information came from.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
Which source is most credible for a report on how sleep affects teenagers?
Correct answer: A
A university article written by experts and based on studies is the most trustworthy choice. An ad is trying to sell a product, so it may be biased.
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Question 2
What is plagiarism?
Correct answer: C
Plagiarism is taking credit for another person's work. Quoting or summarizing with a citation gives proper credit.
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Question 3
"Honeybees pollinate many of the crops that people eat, so a decline in bees could affect food supplies."
Which is the best paraphrase of this sentence?
Correct answer: B
A good paraphrase keeps the full meaning in new words. The first choice copies only half the sentence word for word, and the last one reverses cause and effect.
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Question 4
Which research question is the most focused?
Correct answer: D
This question names a specific topic, place and season, so it can be answered in a report. The other questions are far too broad.
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Question 5
When you judge whether a website is reliable, which detail matters most?
Correct answer: A
Who wrote the information and what it is based on decide whether you can trust it. Design and fonts say nothing about accuracy.
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Question 6
What should you do when you use a sentence word for word from a source?
Correct answer: B
Exact words must go in quotation marks with a citation. Changing a few words without credit is still plagiarism.
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Question 7
Which search terms would most likely give useful results for a report on how plastic harms sea turtles?
Correct answer: D
Combining the key ideas, plastic pollution and sea turtles, narrows the results to the topic. A single word like "turtles" returns too many unrelated pages.
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Question 8
Two sources give different numbers for the same statistic. What is the best next step?
Correct answer: C
Checking a third reliable source and the publication dates helps you find which number is accurate and current. Choosing a number for drama or averaging them is not good research.
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Question 9
Which is a primary source for a report on the Civil Rights Movement?
Correct answer: A
A primary source was created by someone who took part in or witnessed the events, like a speech recorded at the march. Encyclopedias and textbooks are secondary sources.
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Question 10
Why is a source's publication date important?
Correct answer: D
Information on topics like science and technology can become outdated, so a recent source may be needed. Neither old nor new sources are automatically correct.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
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