Tests and assignments are vital assessment tools used by teachers in learning institutions. It is not possible for students to understand and know everything without using other sources. Academic sources provide examples and evidence that support arguments in research essays. Primary and secondary academic sources should therefore be used in an ethical way to ensure students deliver quality assignments backed by credible evidence from external sources. Academic research entails referring to other people’s work to build one’s ideas, theories and facts. Academic sources should be made accessible to students when they are doing standardized tests. Standardized tests that determine people’s education, basically their lives, are not fair due to lack of information and materials that can help students perform well. Therefore, these tests should be restructured or should not be used as assessment tools. Writing skills are essential in communication and language tests. Composition tests are meant to test the students’ writing techniques, and at the same time examine if their thinking is actually critical (Perelman 128). Compositions and other pieces of writing must always meet intellectual standards. Any form of training that does not allow students to use outside information and materials is bound to lack substance. Positions taken by students when writing essays should have strong and credible evidence from outside sources (Perelman 129). Recent research indicates that the performance of students is poor when it comes to essay writing because their tutors do not permit the use of external sources. It is always difficult for students to remember all the facts about a particular subject or topic without consulting other sources (Perelman 129). A student can only be considered as information literate if he or she is able access and evaluate information from sources in a critical and effective manner. Ethical and legal access to academic information with appropriate application demonstrates that a student meets the required information literacy standards (Perelman 130). Internet research has become very popular in recent times with many composition classes leaning towards the new trend of conducting academic research. Many publications have been done through the help of internet sources. Although internet sources have helped a great deal in academic writing, the credibility of some of the sources is what worries many scholars (McClure 53). It is always a difficult task for students to determine which online sources are credible and useful. Some companies have commercial websites that they use to advocate for issues they support. These websites provide a perfect platform for customers to give their views about company products, services and campaigns. Digital advocacy has become a common trend in companies and learning institutions (McClure 53). Conservative composition teachers are always reluctant to allow the use of internet sources by their students because they always question the credibility of some of the online sources. It is always a difficult task to locate and understand information from traditional print sources compared to online sources. Some websites do not undergo editing and filtering, and which makes conservative scholars to question the use of online sources (McClure 54). Digital advocacy is an initiative that has changed th