Congratulations! The workshop content has been delivered and now it is time to see how you did. There are two assessments in the next section.

The first is a self-assessment that you will complete and check the answers at the back.

The second is the Summative Assessment that can be sent to the Coastline Library for review and feedback.

Use the self-assessment to review your knowledge before going on to the Summative Assessment.

Self-Assessment Questions

Test your knowledge by answering these questions. You will score yourself by using the answers provided in the Appendix titled “Answers to Self-Assessment — Test Your Knowledge and Skills”.

These questions are adapted from Robert A. Harris The Plagiarism Handbook.

Read each example of something a student might do while writing an essay. Then decide which type of plagiarism it is or if it is not plagiarism at all.

Mark your answer by writing an X through the dot next to the option you selected.

1. A student copies a paragraph from a source directly into their own essay without changing it. What type of plagiarism is this?
   • CTRL-C
   • Find-Replace
   • Recycle
   • It is not plagiarism
2. A student gathers ideas from several sources, explains the ideas, adds their own analysis, and cites all of the sources they used. What type of plagiarism is this?
   • CTRL-C
   • Remix
   • Recycle
   • It is not plagiarism
3. A student finds useful ideas and facts in a research source and uses their own words to write about them, but does not mention the original source in their essay. What type of plagiarism is this?
   • CTRL-C
   • Find-Replace
   • Remix
   • It is not plagiarism

Read each example of a situation you might find yourself in when writing a college essay. Then decide whether you must include a citation for the source of the information described in order to avoid plagiarizing.

1. In an article you find the unusual phrase “cultural tapeworm.” You decide that it’s a great way to describe an example you are using in your essay, so you use it.
   • You have to cite it
   • You do not have to cite it
2. You read in several sources that the majority of Americans have smartphones. You mention in your essay that smartphones seem to be everywhere today.
   • You have to cite the sources
   • You do not have to cite them
3. You are writing an essay on the effects of wildfires. On a webpage you find a photograph of the fires at Mesa Verde National Park and you add it to your essay.
   • You have to cite it
   • You do not have to cite it
4. You come across a brilliant article that supports a point you are making in your own essay. You decide to use the argument from the article but you explain the whole thing in your own words.
   • You have to cite it
   • You do not have to cite it

Read each statement about the rules for citing sources in order to avoid plagiarism and decide if the statement is true or false.

1. As long as you explain an idea you get from a source in your own words, you do not need to cite the source.
   • True
   • False
2. Even if you do not quote it word-for-word, you must cite an idea you found during your research if you use it in your essay.
   • True
   • False
3. If you find a statement in one of your sources that very closely matches with your own idea, you still have to put the statement in quotation marks and cite the source if you use it in your essay.
   • True
   • False
4. It is possible to plagiarize without knowing or doing it on purpose.
   • True
   • False
5. When you condense a large section of text by writing a summary, the summary is your own work and therefore does not have to be cited.
   • True
   • False

After you answer all of the questions, check your answers in the Appendix section titled “Answers to Self-Assessment — Test Your Knowledge and Skills”. We provided the correct answers as well as an explanation of why they are correct.