Academic Writing MCQs

Academic Writing MCQs

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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1: A bibliography or list of works cited should appear:

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

2: What is included in an APA-style in-text citation?

A.   author and publisher

B.   author and publication date

C.   title and author

D.   title and page number

3: Which is a correct APA-style reference for the book "Life of Pi"?

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.

4: All of the following may appear as a section in a piece of academic writing EXCEPT:

A.   Acknowledgements

B.   Debate

C.   Index or Indices

D.   Analysis

5: Views that are in opposition to your own should be addressed:

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

6: What is a thesis statement?

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

7: Which section of an academic paper reiterates the paper's claim and may suggest its further significance?

A.   results

B.   abstract

C.   literature review

D.   conclusion

8: What is self-plagiarism?

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

9: Which is a standard order for the sections of a piece of academic writing?

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

10: Which of the following can be properly presented in an academic work without citation?

A.   information within the public domain

B.   paraphrasing

C.   a popular quotation

D.   common knowledge

11: While there are many acceptable structures for pieces of academic writing, all of them have in common:

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

12: The primary difference between an abstract and a thesis statement is:

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

13: Which of the following statements about plagiarism is true?

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

14: Which of the following is a form of plagiarism?

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

15: What is the best pair of descriptors for academic tone?

A.   formal, impersonal

B.   formal, imperious

C.   formal, personal

D.   informal, impersonal

16: True or false: an academic argument is almost always strengthened when the author leaves out first-person pronouns.

A.   True

B.   False

17: What is the most appropriate structure for an academic essay?

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

18: Which of the following is an example of common knowledge that would not require a citation?

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

19: Where in an academic essay is the most common place to introduce the thesis statement?

A.   as the first sentence

B.   in the first paragraph

C.   after previewing the evidence

D.   in the conclusion

20: Which of the following is an example of plagiarism?

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

21: Vocabulary should be selected in academic writing primarily for its:

A.   colloquiality

B.   opacity

C.   clarity

D.   formality

22: What is an abstract?

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

23: If a novelist were to attempt a piece of academic writing, what changes in language and tone would she be advised to make?

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.

25: Which section of an academic paper describes the design of the experiment or study?

A.   abstract

B.   results

C.   references

D.   methodology

26: How should you address sources that disagree with your argument?

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

27: Which of the following could be plagiarized?

A.   data and statistics

B.   computer code

C.   (All of these)

D.   written text

28: Which is most correct? "The professor presented her ideas to the panel of her ____."

A.   colleagues

B.   buddies

C.   extremely important colleagues

D.   extremely important buddies

29: From a style perspective, good academic writing should:

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

30: What type of academic paper should include a results section?

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

31: Which element is necessary to a strong argument?

A.   a thesis statement that makes a claim

B.   evidence to support a claim

C.   an acknowledgment of opposing views

D.   (All of these)

32: Which are discouraged in many forms of academic writing?

A.   (All of these)

B.   colloquial language

C.   contractions

D.   abbreviations

33: What voice is most appropriate to adopt for academic writing?

A.   folksy and verbose

B.   pretentious and stylized

C.   impassioned and emotional

D.   objective and confident

34: Choose the most correct option for a piece of academic writing: "The complete data of experiment results were ____ in the New England Journal of Medicine later that year."

A.   unfurled

B.   put on display

C.   published

D.   put out

35: What is the best approach to using jargon or technical terms in academic writing?

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.

36: Which section of an academic paper evaluates the current body of published work in the field?

A.   methodology

B.   literature review

C.   introduction

D.   works cited

37: What is deductive reasoning?

A.   reasoning from general premises to a specific conclusion

B.   reasoning from specific information to broader conclusions

38: What is the relationship between a thesis statement and a topic sentence?

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

39: Which of the following is not included in an MLA-style reference for a book?

A.   place of publication

B.   page count

C.   publisher

D.   title and edition number (if any)

40: What is the primary difference between a Works Cited list and a Bibliography?

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.

41: Which is most likely to be an effective strategy for avoiding plagiarism when researching?

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

42: Choose the best thesis statement:

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.

43: When is it permissible to copy verbatim from a source without citation or quotation marks?

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

44: Which style of citation would be most appropriate for academic work in the social sciences?

A.   MLA

B.   APA

C.   Chicago

D.   Bluebook

45: The correct APA reference format in Academic Writing out of the following

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.

46: In academics, a 'discourse community' refers to:

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

47: What is the in-text citation format for Harvard style of formatting?

A.   Author and year; Author page no.; Author and publisher, Author and title

B.   Author, year, page no.

48: Which of the following is an acceptable way to cite a web source according to the Chicago Manual of Style?

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

49: What is a difference between "Works Cited" and "References"?

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.

50: What is the primary difference between the MLA and Chicago styles of citation?

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.