Research Skills — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word on each line.
1. A plan is a short list of questions you want to answer during your research.
A research plan lists the questions you want to answer, which keeps you focused and helps you know exactly what information to look for.
2. When you cite a book, you write the title and the author who wrote it.
Including the author's name in a citation tells readers who wrote the book, so they can judge whether the person is a reliable expert.
3. Skimming means reading quickly to find the main ideas without reading every word.
Skimming saves time by letting you glance through headings and key sentences quickly to grab the main ideas without reading every single word.
4. Bold or italic words in a text often point to important vocabulary.
Authors use bold or italic formatting to make important vocabulary stand out on the page, signaling readers to pay extra attention to those words.
5. A comparison chart can help you organize facts from two different sources side by side.
A comparison chart places facts from two sources side by side so you can easily see where they agree and where they differ.
6. The date a source was published tells you how recent the information is.
The published date shows when the information was written, which matters because older sources may be missing newer discoveries or updates.
7. Headings break a text into sections so readers can find topics faster.
Headings divide a long text into sections, each about one topic, so readers can skip ahead to the part they need.
8. A quote is a sentence or phrase taken word for word from a source, placed inside quotation marks.
A quote copies the exact words from a source and uses quotation marks to show they belong to the original author, not to you.
9. Using someone else's words without giving credit is called plagiarism.
Plagiarism means presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own, which is dishonest. Always give credit by citing the source.
Part B: Matching
Match each reference type on the left to what it is best used for on the right.
1. Match each reference type to its best use.
Atlas
→ Finding maps of countries and continents
Finding a synonym for a word
Dictionary
→ Learning the meaning and spelling of a word
Looking up yearly facts and statistics
Almanac
→ Looking up yearly facts and statistics
Finding maps of countries and continents
Thesaurus
→ Finding a synonym for a word
Learning the meaning and spelling of a word
Correct matches: Atlas → Finding maps of countries and continents; Dictionary → Learning the meaning and spelling of a word; Almanac → Looking up yearly facts and statistics; Thesaurus → Finding a synonym for a word.