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Common Core ELA7th GradeWriting

W.7.8: Find, Check, Paraphrase and Cite Sources

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.8 · Cluster: Research to Build and Present Knowledge.

Get Cornell NotesAll 41 7th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 7, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What W.7.8 Means in Plain English

Seventh graders turn a topic into search terms that work, then check every source before using it: who wrote it, when, what the site wants and whether its facts match other sources. They quote or paraphrase in their own sentences and cite each source in a standard format like MLA.

Sixth grade (W.6.8) checks credibility and asks only for basic bibliographic information. Seventh grade adds effective search terms, checking accuracy as well as credibility, and a standard citation format. Eighth grade (W.8.8) repeats this wording exactly, so these are the habits students carry into eighth-grade research.

W.7.8 I Can Statements

  • I can choose search terms that find useful print and digital sources.
  • I can judge whether a source is credible and its facts accurate.
  • I can quote or paraphrase without plagiarizing and cite in MLA format.

W.7.8 Worked Example

Two students found the same museum article and the same video, and only one of them checked before using a source.

Prompt

You are writing a report on whether megalodon, the giant prehistoric shark, could still be alive. Your first search, “megalodon,” returned millions of results, many of them movie clips and toys, and a narrower search turned up two sources. Source A is an article on a natural history museum’s website by Dr. Ines Halloway, a paleontologist, updated in 2024 and ending with a list of its sources. It says, “Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived, went extinct millions of years ago. Its skeleton was made of cartilage, which rarely fossilizes, so nearly everything scientists know about it comes from its teeth, some as long as an adult’s hand.” Source B is a video on a channel called Deep Sea Secrets with no sources listed. Its narrator says “a 100-foot megalodon was caught on camera near the Mariana Trench in 2016,” and the video’s description links to the channel’s merchandise store. Which source would you use, and how?

Not YetI would use Source B because it is more exciting. A 100-foot megalodon was caught on camera near the Mariana Trench in 2016. I found it on Google.It picks the most exciting claim without checking it. The video lists no sources and exists to sell merchandise, its living megalodon does not match the museum’s fossil evidence, the second sentence copies the narrator’s words with no quotation marks or citation, and “Google” names a search engine, not a source.
Meets the StandardI would use Source A. A search for “megalodon” brought up movie clips and toys, so I searched “when did megalodon go extinct fossil evidence” and found both sources. Source A is written by a paleontologist at a natural history museum, was updated in 2024 and lists its sources, while Source B lists none and sends viewers to a merchandise store, so its main purpose is selling things. Source B’s claim also does not match Source A, which says megalodon went extinct millions of years ago and is known almost entirely from fossil teeth. In my report I would paraphrase it this way: Because a shark’s skeleton is cartilage and seldom turns to stone, the extinct megalodon is known to scientists mostly through its huge fossil teeth (Halloway). Then I would add the article’s full MLA entry to the list of sources at the end of my report.The writer narrowed the search terms, judged credibility (author, date, listed sources, purpose) and accuracy (a living megalodon does not match the museum’s fossil evidence), then restated the idea in a new sentence structure with an MLA in-text citation and a full MLA entry for the source list.
Moves to Use
Replace one-word searches with the key words of the research question.Check credibility: who wrote it, when, and what the site wants from you.Check accuracy: does the claim match what other credible sources say?Paraphrase by changing the sentence structure, not just a few words, and cite it.Put quotation marks around any words you keep from the source.

Common Mistakes with W.7.8

Trusting the boldest number

“A 100-foot megalodon was caught on camera,” taken from a video that lists no sources

Try this: Have students check every statistic against a second credible source and note on their source card whether the two agree.

Patchwriting

The source’s sentence with three words swapped for synonyms and no citation

Try this: Teach students to read the passage, cover it, write the idea from memory in a new structure, then check it and cite.

One-word searches

Searching “megalodon” and using whatever comes up first

Try this: Have students write three search phrases from the key words of their research question and compare the first page of results for each.

Where W.7.8 Fits

Comes BeforeW.6.8Gather information from several sources, assess credibility and give basic bibliographic information.
AlongsideW.7.7The short research projects where these sources get used.W.7.6Link to and cite the same sources when the writing is published online.
Comes NextW.8.8The same expectations, word for word, carried into eighth-grade research.

Practice W.7.8

Rubric GeneratorFree ToolBuild a source-check rubric with rows for author, date, purpose and accuracy, and have students score each source before they take notes from it.CredibilityAccuracyCitation
Build a Rubric

Quick Check

  1. What two checks does the strong response run on the sources, and what does each show?
  2. How did the writer improve the search terms?
  3. Why is the weak response’s second sentence plagiarism?

W.7.8: Other Names

W.7.8CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.8

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.