Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 7, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What W.7.6 Means in Plain English
Seventh graders publish online for real readers, on a class blog or a school news site, and every source is linked where it is used and cited so readers can check it. They draft in shared documents, comment on classmates’ work and answer comments on their own.
Sixth grade (W.6.6) uses technology to publish and collaborate and asks students to type three pages in one sitting. Seventh grade drops the typing target and adds linking to and citing sources. Eighth grade (W.8.6) asks writers to use technology to show how information and ideas relate, efficiently.
W.7.6 I Can Statements
I can publish my writing online for a real audience.
I can link to and cite every source I use.
I can use shared documents and comments to work with classmates.
W.7.6 Worked Example
A news-site post about a new mural, twice: first as the group drafted it, then as it went live after they linked, cited and worked through each other’s comments.
Prompt
Your group’s post for the school news site is about the student council’s plan to paint a mural on the blank outside wall of the gym. You have three sources: the spreadsheet of design votes the council shared with your class, the school board’s policy page on artwork on school property and an interview with the art teacher, Ms. Brandt. Revise this paragraph so readers can reach and check every source, then share it with your group for comments before it goes live.
Not YetThe school is getting a mural and most kids voted for the river design. The school board has rules about it. I got this from the internet and from talking to people. Source: Google.A reader cannot check a single claim. “Google” is the search engine that found a page, not the page itself, “talking to people” hides the art teacher’s name, and nothing is linked, though the post will be read on a screen.
Meets the StandardThe blank wall outside the gym is about to get some color. In a student council vote over three lunch periods in April, 318 students chose among four designs, and the river design won with 141 votes, a result you can check in the council’s vote spreadsheet, linked here. Before any paint goes up, the school board’s policy on artwork on school property, also linked, requires the principal to approve the final sketch. Art teacher Ms. Brandt told us in an interview on April 22 that students from every grade will help paint the mural in May once the sketch is approved. Sources: student council mural vote spreadsheet, April; “Artwork on School Property,” school board policy page; interview with Ms. Brandt, art teacher, April 22.Each claim now has a trail. The vote count and the approval rule link to the spreadsheet and the policy right where they appear, the interview carries a name and a date since there is nothing to link, and the closing list serves readers who never click.
Moves to Use
Link the words that name the source, right where the fact appears.Name anyone you interviewed and say when you spoke with them.End with a source list, so a reader who does not click can still check.Share the draft in a shared document and answer every comment before publishing.
Common Mistakes with W.7.6
Citing the search engine
“Source: Google” or “I got it from the internet.”
Try this: Have students click through to the page they actually used and record its title, its author or organization and the date.
A pasted address instead of a link
A long web address dropped into the middle of a sentence, with no hint of what it leads to
Try this: Teach students to link the words that name the source, such as the school board’s artwork policy, instead of pasting the address.
Comments nobody answers
A shared document with nine comments, all still open on the day the post goes live
Try this: Require writers to reply to or resolve every comment before publishing, and to explain any suggestion they chose not to take.
Writing Prompt GeneratorFree ToolAn informative prompt for a class blog or news-site post. Groups draft it in a shared document and link every source before it goes up.InformativeGrades 6 to 8On screen
Rubric GeneratorFree ToolBuild a publishing checklist with rows for links, citations and comments answered, and score the post before it goes live.LinksCitationsComments
Which two sources in the strong response are linked, and how is the third one cited?
The student council’s vote spreadsheet and the school board’s artwork policy are linked. The interview with Ms. Brandt has no page to link to, so it is named and dated instead.
Why does “Source: Google” fail to tell a reader where the mural facts came from?
Google is the search engine that led to a page, not the page itself, so a reader cannot use it to find or check the vote count or the board’s rule.
What does the group do before the post goes live, and which part of W.7.6 does it practice?
They share the draft for comments and answer every one, which practices using technology to interact and collaborate with others.