Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
Common Core State Standards, Grades 11-12, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What W.11-12.8 Means in Plain English
Seniors search like researchers, with exact phrases and site filters, then judge each source against the task: a company report has data but a motive, a survey has reach but self-reported answers. They quote only what the paragraph needs, spread the weight across sources and cite in MLA or APA.
Grades 9 to 10 (W.9-10.8) judge how useful each source is to the question. Grades 11 to 12 weigh strengths and limits against task, purpose and audience, and add avoiding overreliance on any one source. This is the last band, the college and career readiness goal for using sources.
W.11-12.8 I Can Statements
I can use advanced searches to find authoritative print and digital sources.
I can weigh each source’s strengths and limits for my task.
I can weave in sources selectively, lean on none, and cite them.
W.11-12.8 Worked Example
Both paragraphs draw on the same three search results. One leans on the first source it found; the other weighs all three.
Prompt
For a research paper addressed to the Fairhaven city council’s transportation committee, write a paragraph on whether the city’s e-scooter share program replaces car trips. An exact-phrase search limited to the last three years turned up three sources: a press release from Skedd, the company that runs the program, reporting that 46 percent of riders say they would otherwise have driven; the Fairhaven Department of Transportation’s rider survey, in which 22 percent said they would otherwise have driven and 41 percent said they would have walked; and a peer-reviewed study by Adeyemi and Lindqvist that tracked trips in three other mid-size cities and found that scooter trips mostly replaced walking and transit, with the share replacing car trips ranging from 12 to 29 percent.
Not YetE-scooters are a great way to reduce car trips. According to Skedd, “46 percent of riders say they would otherwise have driven” (Skedd). This shows that scooters take almost half of all car trips off the road, so the city should keep the program.The whole paragraph rests on one source, the one with the most to gain, and its limitation goes unmentioned. The writer also overstates it: riders saying they would otherwise have driven is not half of all car trips removed. The two stronger sources the search found never appear.
Meets the StandardWhether e-scooters replace car trips depends heavily on who is counting. Skedd, the program’s operator, reports that 46 percent of its riders would otherwise have driven (Skedd), but a company press release has an interest in the highest figure and does not say how the question was asked. The city’s own rider survey, which has no such stake, puts the share at 22 percent and finds that more riders, 41 percent, would otherwise have walked (Fairhaven Department of Transportation). Survey answers are self-reported, however, so the strongest method belongs to Adeyemi and Lindqvist’s peer-reviewed study, which tracked actual trips and found that car-trip replacement ranged from 12 to 29 percent, though in three other mid-size cities rather than Fairhaven (Adeyemi and Lindqvist 418). Taken together, the sources suggest that scooters take some cars off the road but far fewer than the operator claims, a distinction the committee should weigh before treating the program as a traffic measure.Each source arrives with its strength and its limitation for this task: the operator’s motive, the survey’s self-reported answers, the study’s method and its other cities. No single source carries the paragraph, paraphrase keeps the flow with figures chosen selectively, every figure is cited in MLA style, and the close tells this audience, a council committee, what the combined evidence means for its decision.
Moves to Use
Search with exact phrases, site filters and date limits, and note why each result is worth keeping.Name each source’s strength and limitation for this task and audience.Let no single source carry the paragraph.Paraphrase most, quote only what needs the source’s exact words, and cite every figure.
Common Mistakes with W.11-12.8
One source carries the paper
Six of eight citations go to the same press release
Try this: Have students tally citations by source after drafting, then rebalance any paragraph where one source supplies most of the evidence.
Judging sources by their look
“This source is reliable because it has a professional website.”
Try this: Ask students to write one strength and one limitation for each source, each tied to their own task and audience.
Quote dumping
A paragraph of three long quotations joined by “Also,”
Try this: Limit each paragraph to one direct quotation, and require students to paraphrase and cite everything else in their own sentences.
Rubric GeneratorFree ToolMake a source-use rubric with rows for the search, the judgment of each source, balance across sources and citation.SourcesCitationBalance
What limitation does the strong paragraph name for each source?
The operator has an interest in a high number, the city survey relies on self-reported answers, and the study’s three cities did not include Fairhaven.
Why is the weak paragraph’s conclusion an overstatement?
Riders saying they would otherwise have driven does not mean almost half of all car trips were removed, and the claim comes from the source with the most to gain.
How does the strong paragraph avoid overreliance on any one source?
Each source supplies a different piece, and the conclusion rests on what the three show together rather than on any single figure.