Take Certification Tests
Each randomly selected question on a test provides source material from another author and a sample of student writing. You must determine whether the student version is word-for-word plagiarism, paraphrasing plagiarism, or not plagiarism. Most people find tests to be challenging, demanding concentration and attention to detail. Most people fail several tests before they pass.
Certification Tests require judgment, which in turn requires reading comprehension and critical thinking. They require applying concepts and principles. They require paying careful attention to details.
You will know when you pass a test, because on the results page it will say,
Congratulations! You passed a Certification Test by answering at least 9 questions correctly.
You are very likely to pass if you keep trying, take your time, and you use successful learning strategies described below.
To pass a Certification Test, you must answer at least 9 out of 10 questions correctly within 40 minutes.**
If you pass, you can e-mail your unique Certificate to yourself, and you can view it online. Very importantly, you and your instructor can later retrieve and validate your Certificate to ensure it is not counterfeit.
Your chances of passing a test are about:
- 1 out of 20,000--nearly zero--when you just guess answers,
- 16 out of 100 when you only use hints and test results for learning (see video on how tests work and using hints),
- 84 out of 100 when you try the instruction and practice with feedback or study patterns of plagiarism associated with your mistakes on a test, or both.
We know this from research on how more than a million students have used this website.
If you answer fewer than 9 questions correctly, or you take longer than 40 minutes, you do not pass that test.
If you do not pass a Certification Test, you will receive feedback on specific kinds of mistakes you made on that test. Click on the links provided in the test feedback to see examples of the kinds of questions you missed, and why you missed them. You can also click to see the applicable decision rules used to select the correct answer. Students who study the explanations of why one answer is more correct than another improve their odds of passing a new test by a factor of 3 to 1.
You can try new tests if you do not pass.
You can take more tests, but each test is different. Some questions may look the same as ones you saw before, but often differ in small but important details which affect which answer is correct. See this decision support tool for additional help.
We do not tell you which questions you answered incorrectly on a Certification Test.
Why? Because it makes it harder to create answer keys for cheating, as was widely occurring in the past. It's not because we can't provide correct answers, or don't understand the importance of feedback in the learning process. It's because we do not have resources to keep creating new test questions all the time. If we did, then we would have to charge you for each test you take.
In addition, the Certification Tests are designed for valid assessment of your ability to classify types of plagiarism. They are designed to discriminate mastery from non-mastery of your ability to identify kinds of plagiarism, not designed as instruments for learning per se. That's what the instruction and practice questions are for, which include explanatory feedback on why your answers are incorrect.
Click or tap a button below to login for a test:
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Your Certificate for Passing a Test
Your unique Certificate on recognizing plagiarism will be e-mailed to you if you click on the button to request it after passing a test.
Already passed a test and have a Certificate? Click here to validate your Certificate.
Technical Problems?
If you are having technical problems in taking a test, you can e-mail us by clicking on the link at the bottom of any of the pages. But first, see frequently asked questions, which should save you time.
We cannot respond to all requests for help. We simply do not have the resources, but do try to respond to individual cases that appear to be unusual or unique.
**If you have a disability and need more time or a different format for taking tests, please see this FAQ for advice.