Rise Placement Test Analysis and Use of Sources 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student wants to support a claim about climate change impacts. Which type of source would be MOST credible?
- A peer-reviewed journal article by climate scientists (Correct answer)
- A blog post by an environmental activist
- A social media thread with thousands of likes
- A news opinion column by a celebrity
Correct answer: A peer-reviewed journal article by climate scientists
Peer-reviewed journal articles are vetted by experts, making them the most credible sources for scientific claims.
Question 2: When integrating a direct quote into your essay, you should:
- Use the quote to replace your own analysis entirely
- Introduce it, quote it, and then explain its relevance (Correct answer)
- Paraphrase it without quotation marks to improve flow
- Only use quotes from sources published in the last year
Correct answer: Introduce it, quote it, and then explain its relevance
The introduce-quote-explain (sandwich) method ensures quotes are contextualized and connected to your argument.
Question 3: Which scenario best describes 'cherry-picking' evidence?
- Selecting the most recent sources available
- Citing only studies that support your argument while ignoring contradicting evidence (Correct answer)
- Using multiple sources from different viewpoints
- Summarizing a long article into a few sentences
Correct answer: Citing only studies that support your argument while ignoring contradicting evidence
Cherry-picking means selectively using only evidence that supports your claim, which distorts a fair analysis.
Question 4: What does it mean to synthesize sources in a research paper?
- Copy and paste information from multiple sources
- Quote every source at least once in your paper
- Combine ideas from several sources to build a unified argument (Correct answer)
- Summarize each source in a separate paragraph
Correct answer: Combine ideas from several sources to build a unified argument
Synthesis means weaving together ideas from multiple sources to form a cohesive, original argument rather than treating them in isolation.
Question 5: A source published in 1985 argues that the internet has no future in business. Why might this source be problematic for a current research paper?
- It is not written in academic language
- It lacks currency because developments have long since disproved the claim (Correct answer)
- The author's name is not listed
- It was published before APA style was developed
Correct answer: It lacks currency because developments have long since disproved the claim
Currency is a key source-evaluation criterion; outdated sources may contain claims that have been superseded by later events or research.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of a primary source?
- A biography about Abraham Lincoln
- Lincoln's Gettysburg Address speech (Correct answer)
- A textbook chapter on the Civil War
- A documentary film about the 1860s
Correct answer: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address speech
Primary sources are original, firsthand documents or artifacts — the Gettysburg Address is Lincoln's own words.
Question 7: When evaluating a website as a source, which domain extension generally signals the highest credibility for academic research?
- .com
- .net
- .edu (Correct answer)
- .org
Correct answer: .edu
The .edu domain is reserved for accredited educational institutions, making it generally more reliable for academic research.
Rise Placement Test Analysis and Use of Sources 2
A student wants to support a claim about climate change impacts.
Which type of source would be MOST credible?