Middle School English Quiz: Gather Information And Assess Credibility

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Gather Information And Assess Credibility, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Middle School English.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

Question 1

1. Source B is more credible because it is written in simpler language for the public.
2. Source A is more credible because it is from a reputable government agency and provides evidence and dates. (correct answer)
3. They are equally credible because both are online and discuss the same topic.
4. Source B is more credible because it has more comments and shares.

Question 2

1. The author (or organization) and the date the page was published or updated. (correct answer)
2. A long summary of the article's main ideas.
3. The student's opinion about whether the website is trustworthy.
4. A list of other websites that talk about the same topic.

Question 3

1. This is acceptable because scientific information is common knowledge and never needs a citation
2. This is direct plagiarism because he copied the sentence word-for-word without quotation marks or citation (correct answer)
3. This is a strong paraphrase because he kept the same structure to avoid changing the meaning
4. This is not plagiarism as long as he lists the website somewhere, even without an in-text citation

Question 4

1. Source 1, because it is a government agency web page that is up to date, though it lists no individual author.
2. Source 4, because it was edited very recently and gathers information from many contributors into one place.
3. Source 3, because it is peer-reviewed and written by qualified researchers. (correct answer)
4. Source 2, because it is passionate about the topic and states its predictions with confidence.

Question 5

1. Older sources are always more reliable than newer ones.
2. It is a primary source that provides firsthand information from the time period. (correct answer)
3. It does not need to be checked because newspapers never contain errors.
4. It is better than a textbook because it will automatically be unbiased.

Question 6

1. It has no listed author or date and cites no studies, so it may be trying to sell products rather than inform readers fairly. (correct answer)
2. It is trustworthy because it takes a clear side and confidently supports letting students rely on AI, which is a helpful topic.
3. It is trustworthy because it links to many current products and comes from a website that clearly focuses on education tools.
4. It is a minor concern that the author and date are missing, but the detailed content and strong claims still make it reliable overall.

Question 7

1. There is no problem here, because he swapped in several new words, so the sentence now counts as his own original writing without a citation
2. This is too-close paraphrasing plus a missing citation; he should rewrite it in his own structure and credit the museum article (correct answer)
3. The only real problem is that a photograph and a history book cannot be mixed with a website in the same research paper
4. This is acceptable, because the historian who wrote the article already did the citing, so Carlos does not have to cite it again

Question 8

1. Source B is more credible because it presents many different user opinions in one place, and hearing several viewpoints makes a source more balanced and trustworthy
2. Source A is more credible because it comes from a government science agency and was updated recently, while Source B lacks evidence and expert authorship (correct answer)
3. Both sources are equally credible because they are both available online and both directly discuss the topic of earthquakes that Chen is researching
4. Source B is more credible because it was published earlier, and older sources on scientific topics are generally more accurate than newer ones

Question 9

1. It is acceptable because he swapped in a few different words, so putting his own citation on it is optional here.
2. It is a good paraphrase with a citation, so it avoids plagiarism and credits the original source. (correct answer)
3. It is plagiarism because he kept too much of the original meaning, so a paraphrase like this still counts as copying.
4. It is unnecessary because he added a citation, so restating the idea in his own words was extra work he could skip.

Question 10

1. Treat all four sources as equally trustworthy, since each one discusses snacks or sugar and giving them the same weight keeps his research balanced and fair.
2. Rely mainly on the candy company article and the forum post, since both express strong views and give a real sense of what people actually think about bans.
3. Use sources 1 and 2 as main evidence, note the bias in source 3, and avoid source 4 unless it can be verified elsewhere. (correct answer)
4. Build his plan around the forum post and check it against the candy company article, since both offer everyday opinions rather than confusing scientific language.

Question 11

1. Leave the sentence as it is because this is widely known information that most people already accept as common knowledge.
2. Add an in-text citation after the sentence, such as (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2022). (correct answer)
3. Put the whole sentence in quotation marks, since showing that the words are borrowed makes an extra citation unnecessary.
4. Reword the sentence using different synonyms and sentence structure so that it now counts as his own paraphrase.

Question 12

1. He used a direct quote correctly with quotation marks and an APA-style in-text citation. (correct answer)
2. He should paraphrase the sentence instead, because directly quoting a source counts as plagiarism even when it is cited.
3. He should drop the quotation marks now that the citation is present, since the citation already signals the words are borrowed.
4. He should delete the page number from the citation, because page numbers belong only in a works cited list, not in the text.

Question 13

1. Wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs and worsen asthma, according to a state health department web page (California Department of Public Health, 2021). (correct answer)
2. Wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs and make asthma worse.
3. "Smoke can irritate lungs and make asthma worse" (California Department of Public Health).
4. The California Department of Public Health says smoke can irritate lungs and make asthma worse, so I don't need to cite it.

Question 14

1. There is no problem, because she reworded the idea into her own sentence and added the fact to her own report about vaccines.
2. It is direct copying (plagiarism) because she used the exact wording without quotation marks and a citation naming the source. (correct answer)
3. It is only a citation-format issue, because the facts are accurate and she simply forgot to list the website on her works-cited page.
4. It is acceptable paraphrasing, because she kept the historical facts the same while presenting them smoothly inside her own report.

Question 15

1. No, because it is common knowledge that teens like to stay up late
2. Yes, because the student used an idea from a source without giving credit (correct answer)
3. No, because the student changed the wording and did not copy exact sentences
4. Yes, but only if the student also copied pictures or graphs from the AAP website

Question 16

1. No, because facts are common knowledge and never need to be attributed to a source
2. No, because the student typed the sentence themselves instead of copying and pasting it
3. Yes, because the student used the exact wording without quotation marks or citation (correct answer)
4. Yes, but only if the EPA website charges a fee to read its published content

Question 17

1. A) NASA Climate website article, updated 2024, credited to NASA scientists (.gov) (correct answer)
2. B) Personal blog post (no author credentials) claiming "heat waves are a hoax," posted 2017
3. C) Social media thread summarizing a TV segment, no links to data, posted 2025
4. D) Advertisement from an air conditioner company explaining why summers feel hotter, no citations

Question 18

1. Use the influencer video as the main source because it is the most recent and easiest to understand, use the CDC webpage for background definitions, and skip the journal article since its technical language makes it too hard to quote accurately
2. Use the CDC webpage and the peer-reviewed journal article as primary evidence, use the print book for background definitions, and mention the influencer video only as an example of misinformation (correct answer)
3. Use only the print book because online sources can be edited by anyone, use the influencer video for a modern student perspective, and avoid the CDC webpage and journal article since digital sources cannot be trusted
4. Use all four sources equally as primary evidence because gathering the largest number of sources automatically makes a report more accurate, and treat the influencer video as reliable as the journal article

Question 19

1. "solar energy" OR (renewable AND power) OR homes OR savings OR bills OR utility (general topic terms combined broadly)
2. "solar panel" AND residential AND ("cost savings" OR "electricity bill") AND efficiency (correct answer)
3. "green technology" AND environment AND (climate OR sustainability) AND benefits (focused on ecological impact terms)
4. solar panel residential 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 comparison calculator government database reviews

Question 20

1. NOAA. "Marine Debris: Plastics." noaa.gov. 2023. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/marine-debris.
2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Marine Debris: Plastics." NOAA, 2023, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/marine-debris. (correct answer)
3. "Marine Debris: Plastics." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2023. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/marine-debris.
4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2023). Marine Debris: Plastics. Retrieved from https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/marine-debris.