Research & Note-Taking · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Research and Note-Taking

English · Writing Composition · ages 10-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________
  1. A bibliography lists the sources you used in your research.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. When you take notes for research, you should write facts...

    • In your own words
    • Word-for-word, copied exactly
    • Only from one source
  3. Paraphrasing means...

    • Copying a sentence exactly
    • Retelling the idea in your own words without changing its meaning
    • Skipping information you don't understand
  4. A website says: 'Elephants use their trunks to pick up food and drink water.' Which note is paraphrased correctly, in the student's own words?

    • Elephant trunks help them grab food and drink.
    • Elephants use their trunks to pick up food and drink water.
    • Elephants are big and gray.
  5. Layla wrote notes from two different books about sharks. What should she do to make sure her project has an accurate list of sources?

    • Only write down the book she liked best
    • Skip listing sources since she read two books
    • List both books in her bibliography
  6. Omar is taking notes from three websites about the rainforest. What is the best way to keep his notes organised?

    • Write all the facts in one long paragraph with no source names
    • Group notes by source, and label which website each fact came from
    • Only take notes from the last website he reads
  7. Finn's project has notes from a book and a magazine, but his bibliography only lists the book. What should Finn fix?

    • Add the magazine to his bibliography, since he used it too
    • Remove the notes from the magazine so his bibliography matches
    • Nothing, one source is enough to list
  8. Maria's notes say: 'Sharks have swum in Earth's oceans for millions of years, since before dinosaurs existed.' She copied this straight from a website without changing a word. What mistake did Maria make?

    • She did not use enough sources
    • She used too many facts
    • She copied the sentence instead of paraphrasing it
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Research and Note-Taking W1-mt_dRLP8g0SAg-s1

  1. True · That is exactly what a bibliography is: a list of your sources.
  2. In your own words · Writing facts in your own words shows you understood them and avoids copying.
  3. Retelling the idea in your own words without changing its meaning · Paraphrasing keeps the original meaning but uses your own words.
  4. Elephant trunks help them grab food and drink. · The second note keeps the same meaning but uses different words instead of copying the sentence exactly.
  5. List both books in her bibliography · Every source you use should appear in the bibliography, not just your favourite one.
  6. Group notes by source, and label which website each fact came from · Labelling notes by source keeps them organised and makes it easy to build a bibliography later.
  7. Add the magazine to his bibliography, since he used it too · Every source you actually used needs to appear in the bibliography, including the magazine.
  8. She copied the sentence instead of paraphrasing it · Even correct facts should be reworded in your own words, not copied directly from the source.
Worksheet · LightMySky