In academic writing, it is vital that you rely on credible sources to build on and reinforce your argument. The CRAAP test is a tool you can use to test a source’s credibility to ensure that the information you use is reliable.
Using the CRAAP test, which was developed in 2004 by librarians at California State University, is an information literacy skill that will serve you well as an academic writer and researcher.
What is the CRAAP test?The CRAAP test is composed of five elements.
Currency: Is the source current?
Relevance: Is the source pertinent to your topic?
Authority: Does the source come from a reliable publisher and author?
Accuracy: Is the information correct? Is there evidence supporting the information?
Purpose: Why was this source published?
The CRAAP test can be applied to evaluate a range of sources.
There are numerous types of plagiarism to watch out for, ranging from incorrectly paraphrasing someone else’s words to copying an entire essay.
The five most common types of plagiarism are:
Global plagiarism: claiming an entire text by someone else as your own.
Verbatim plagiarism: copying someone else’s words without using quotation marks and a citation.
Paraphrasing plagiarism: using someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.
Patchwork plagiarism: using various bits and pieces of other texts to create a text as if the ideas were yours.
Self-plagiarism: using your own past work without a citation.
With the exception of global plagiarism, these different types of plagiarism often happen accidentally due to mistakes with quoting, paraphrasing, and citing sources. Quillbot’s Plagiarism Checker tool can help mitigate the possibility of accidental plagiarism.
NoteAI-assisted plagiarism is becoming increasingly common as AI tools grow in popularity. AI-assisted plagiarism is when you use AI-generated text as if it were your own original work. It can involve different forms of plagiarism, from the copying of a whole text (i.e., global plagiarism) or bits and pieces (i.e., patchwork plagiarism).
Universities often use AI detectors to scan work for originality.
Signal phrases are used to indicate the original source of a quote or idea. Along with in-text citations, signal phrases are an important step to letting the reader know which ideas are your own and which information is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized from another source.
Signal phrase exampleAccording to theorist Julia Kristeva, “literature is the coding of our crises, of our most intimate and most serious apocalypses” (“Powers of Horror”).
Tertiary sources compile the information contained in primary and secondary sources without adding novel interpretations or ideas. Examples of tertiary sources, also known as reference works, include:
Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Bibliographies
Databases
Tertiary sources gather information from many different types of sources. They can include lists, summaries, and indexes of primary sources, which present novel ideas or provide direct evidence and secondary sources, which offer interpretations or analyses of primary sources.
Tertiary sources are a valuable resource during the research process as they can provide background information and indicate where to look for primary and secondary sources. They can highlight key terms you should know as well as researchers whose work is especially pertinent to your topic.
That said, tertiary sources are generally not suitable for direct reference in academic writing.
Credible sources are unbiased and evidence-based materials that have reliable authors. Credible sources are key to strong academic writing.
Given the abundance of sources you can encounter, knowing how to differentiate between what is credible and what isn’t is a fundamental information literacy skill. Using credible sources means that your arguments are based on accurate, reliable information.
Information literacy covers a range of skills related to finding sources, evaluating their credibility, and using them in appropriate ways. Among other competencies, information literacy includes:
NoteInformation literacy and digital literacy are sometimes used interchangeably, but digital literacy also includes skills related to generating and sharing digital content. Information literacy denotes skills that are more related to being a strong academic researcher.
Academic research involves drawing on existing knowledge from different types of sources.
Primary sources give first-hand evidence and raw data in the form of, for example, statistics, original documents (e.g., the Declaration of Independence), or speeches. Primary research is research that you conduct yourself to collect novel data.
Secondary sources offer the interpretations, summaries, or commentary of other researchers on primary source materials. Examples of secondary sources include reviews, textbooks, and journal articles.
To provide support for your argument, it is helpful to use both primary and secondary resources.
APA is one of the most commonly used citation styles for texts in the social sciences, and it requires specific formatting of your paper and all in-text citations. APA Style in-text citations include the author name and publication year in parentheses (Name, Year).
In-text citations are necessary any time you quote, paraphrase, or summarize another author’s work in your text. The information in the in-text citation must correspond with the relevant entry on your APA reference page.
Emails are a key communication tool in academic as well as professional contexts. Starting emails with an appropriate greeting and opening line is crucial to setting the right tone and making a good impression on the recipient.
There are a variety of greetings and openings that you can use. Consider the relationship you have with the recipient to ensure that you choose appropriate options for the context.
Ms., Mrs., and Miss are titles used to designate women in formal contexts, such as at the start of an email or when meeting someone for the first time.
Traditionally, the correct term to use is based on the woman’s age and marital status. Today, the first consideration should be the individual’s own preference for how she should be addressed.
Ms. (pronounced [miz]) can be used for any woman regardless of marital status.
Mrs. (pronounced [miss-iz]) is used for a married woman regardless of age.
Miss (pronounced [miss]) has traditionally been used for unmarried women of any age but is now more typically used only for girls under the age of 18.
