Exercise: Researching a topic

Read each of the following writing assignments. Then select the choice that offers the better step for researching the topic.

Click Submit after each question to see feedback and to record your answer. If your instructor has assigned this exercise set, you must answer every question before your answers will be submitted to the gradebook.

EXAMPLE

1 of 5

Assignment: Watch one of the film versions of Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights and analyze the motivations of Heathcliff.

Which of the following is a better first step for researching this assignment?

A. Consult a movie database to find out information about different film versions of Wuthering Heights that may be available to you.

B. Find and view the most recent film version of Wuthering Heights.

2 of 5

Assignment: Find an article that argues for the health benefits or detriments of a vegetarian diet. Write a response to the article in which you explicitly refute at least one point on which you disagree with the writer, using evidence from a second source to support your views.

Which of the following is a better step to take once you have found a database that allows you to search for articles about food and health?

A. Locate copies of all of the articles about vegetarian diets.

B. Read abstracts of all of the articles about vegetarian diets.

3 of 5

Assignment: Write an 8- to 10-page project that draws on at least three reputable sources and offers your own interpretation of why childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States.

Which of the following is a better first step to take for researching this assignment?

A. Search for sources that discuss the reasons for the rise in childhood obesity, and then choose the ones you find the most convincing.

B. Formulate your own question about the possible reasons for the rise in childhood obesity, and then search for sources that offer potential answers.

4 of 5

Assignment: Write a project discussing the effect that the 1925 Scopes trial had on science education in U.S. public schools.

Which of the following is a better first strategy for a student unfamiliar with the Scopes trial?

A. Look up Scopes trial on Wikipedia or another general reference source.

B. Search available library databases using the keywords Scopes, science, and schools.

5 of 5

Assignment: Discuss the political satire in Book I of Gulliver’s Travels, including Jonathan Swift’s attacks on important English political figures of the day.

Which of the following is a better first step for researching this topic?

A. Find a biography of Jonathan Swift and use the index to locate information about his political philosophy.

B. Consult a history of the British monarchy and find information about the rulers of England during Swift’s lifetime.