Online Technical Writing Chapter Quiz--Documentation

Answer the questions in this quiz to see how well you've read and understood the chapter. Feel free to link back and forth between the chapter on documentation and this quiz to check your answers.

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  1. Documentation, as the term is used in this chapter, can be defined as:
    Methods used to provide technical information to specific audiences who have specific needs for that information
    Descriptive information about the construction and operation of a mechanism
    Method used to indicate the author, source, and related detail about information that a writer has borrowed.

  2. You can tell whether the number system, which is the documentation style for this course, is being used because the textual citations look like this:
    [2:142]
    (2:142)
    (Smith 1996, 142)
    (Smith: 142)
    (Smith 142)
    (Smith, 142)

  3. When you are reading a report that uses the number system of documentation, how do you determine who the author was and what the title of the sources was for the borrowed information?
    You use the name and year in parentheses in the text to look up the complete citation (author's full name, title of the source, and other bibliographic details) in a list at the end of the report.
    You use the source number and page number in parentheses in the text to look up the complete citation (author's full name, title of the source, and other bibliographic details) in a list at the end of the report.
    You use the source number and page number in brackets in the text to look up the complete citation (author's full name, title of the source, and other bibliographic details) in a list at the end of the report.

  4. Failing to cite the source of information that you borrow is called:
    Felony
    Misdemeanor
    Documentation
    Plagiarism

  5. Imagine that you wanted to cite your source for the following borrowed information. The author is Jones, and the report is entitled Technical Report on Atmospheric Ozone Depletion, which appeared in January of 1997. The specific information you are borrowing occurs on page 78. (Also, this report occurs sixth in your alphabetical list of sources at the end of your own document.) How would your textual citation for this borrowing look in the pages of your document?
    (Jones, Ozone, p. 78)
    [Jones, Ozone, p. 78]
    (Jones, 78)
    [Jones, 78]
    (6: 78)
    [6: 78]

  6. Imagine that you wanted to cite your source of different borrowed information. This time, the author is Gundavaram, but what you borrow occurs in an article entitled "Recent Findings Concerning Atmospheric Ozone Depletion," which appeared in the January 1997 issue of Atmospheric Science. The specific information you are borrowing occurs on page 37. (Also, this report occurs third in your alphabetical list of sources at the end of your own document.) How would your textual citation for this borrowing look in the pages of your document?
    (Gundavaram, "Recent," p. 37)
    [Gundavaram, "Recent," p. 37]
    (Gundavaram, 37)
    [Gundavaram, 37]
    (3: 37)
    [3: 37]

  7. Although the chapter on documentation nowhere states a guideline on this, based on your reading of the chapter, do you think you must cite the author and source of information that you borrow but thoroughly paraphrase or summarize when you place it in your own document?
    Yes
    No

    As you know, the number system relies on a list of information sources at the end of the document, and textual citations (in the actual main text of the document) are keyed to that list. Items in the list at the end of the document must use a standard format. In the following, choose the correct format for the information supplied on the sources.

  8. The author is Cynthia Jones, and the book is entitled Atmospheric Ozone Depletion: Global Dilemma, which appeared in January of 1997 and was published by Wiley (located in New York, New York). The specific information you borrow occurs on page 78. (Also, this report occurs fifth in your alphabetical list of sources at the end of your own document.)
    5. Jones, Cynthia. Atmospheric Ozone Depletion: Global Dilemma. New York: Wiley, 1997.
    5. Jones, Cynthia. "Atmospheric Ozone Depletion: Global Dilemma." New York: Wiley, 1997.
    5. Jones, Cynthia. Atmospheric Ozone Depletion: Global Dilemma. Wiley: New York, 1997.
    5. Jones, Cynthia. "Atmospheric Ozone Depletion: Global Dilemma." Wiley, New York, 1997.

  9. The author is Hari Gundavaram; the source is an article entitled "Recent Findings Concerning Atmospheric Ozone Depletion," which appeared in the January 1997 issue of Atmospheric Science. The specific information you are borrowing occurs on page 37, although the article begins on page 35 and ends on page 44. (Also, this report occurs fourth in your alphabetical list of sources at the end of your own document.)
    4. Gundavaram, Hari. "Recent Findings Concerning Atmospheric Ozone Depletion." Atmospheric Science (January 1997), 37.
    4. Gundavaram, Hari. "Recent Findings Concerning Atmospheric Ozone Depletion." Atmospheric Science (January 1997), 35-44.
    4. Gundavaram, Hari. Recent Findings Concerning Atmospheric Ozone Depletion. "Atmospheric Science" (January 1997), 35-44.
    4. Gundavaram, Hari. Recent Findings Concerning Atmospheric Ozone Depletion. "Atmospheric Science" (January 1997), 37.

  10. Imagine that you e-mailed Hari Gundavaram with some questions concerning his article on atmospheric ozone depletion. He wrote you back on January 17, 1997. Imagine further that he is the Director of the Atmospheric Research Project in Alpine, Texas.
    Atmospheric ozone depletion. Gundavaram, Hari. Director of the Atmospheric Research Project. Alpine, TX. E-mail correspondence. January 17, 1997.
    Gundavaram, Hari. Director of the Atmospheric Research Project. Alpine, TX. E-mail correspondence. January 17, 1997.
    E-mail correspondence. Gundavaram, Hari. Director of the Atmospheric Research Project. Alpine, TX. January 17, 1997.

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