Common Core LiteracyGrades 11–12Writing

WHST.11-12.7: Research a Question and Synthesize the Sources

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.7 · Cluster: Research to Build and Present Knowledge.

The Official Wording

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Common Core State Standards, Grades 11-12, Writing: History, Science & Technical Subjects · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What WHST.11-12.7 Means in Plain English

Seniors run quick and long research projects in history, science and technical classes, often on a question they raised themselves. They narrow it when the sources point somewhere sharper, widen it when they run dry, and combine petitions, diaries and data into one account rather than a source-by-source tour.

The wording matches WHST.9-10.7, so the change is in the research: harder questions, more and tougher sources, and syntheses that show real command of the subject. This is the last band, the college and career readiness goal for research in history, science and technical subjects.

WHST.11-12.7 I Can Statements

I can turn my own question into one research can answer.
I can narrow or widen my question as the sources teach me.
I can combine several sources into one account of the subject.

WHST.11-12.7 Worked Example

A junior who wondered why her county has a Marsh Road and no marsh researched the answer. Here are two versions of her findings paragraph.

Prompt

Your self-generated question began as “What happened to Tamarack Marsh?” After a first round of reading, you narrowed it to “Why did Esker County drain Tamarack Marsh in 1911, and who paid for it?” Write the synthesis paragraph of your research paper from these sources: the 1910 drainage petition, signed by 38 landowners, which calls the marsh “waste land breeding fever and mosquitoes”; a 1911 editorial in the Esker Courier predicting that the drained land would “double the county’s tax rolls”; the district’s 1911 assessment roll, which charged all 61 landowners within a mile of the marsh, petitioners or not; the diary of Lena Whitlow, who did not sign the petition and whose 40 acres of hay bordered the marsh, complaining in 1913 that her assessment cost “more than the hay is worth”; a 1912 lawsuit by the Tamarack Duck Club claiming the ditches destroyed its hunting grounds; and county records showing 2,600 acres of the old marsh planted to corn and onions by 1920.

Not YetTamarack Marsh was drained in 1911 because the petition called it waste land, and the Esker Courier said draining it would double the tax rolls. Lena Whitlow complained about the cost, and the Tamarack Duck Club sued. By 1920 there were 2,600 acres of crops, so the drainage was a success.The sources are listed one at a time in the order they were read, and no sentence connects them. The narrowed question, who paid, goes unanswered even though the assessment roll and Whitlow’s diary speak to it directly, and “a success” judges the project by the petitioners’ own measure without showing any grasp of the conflict.

Meets the StandardEsker County drained Tamarack Marsh in 1911 because the 38 landowners who petitioned for it saw idle land and a health threat, and the town’s newspaper saw a tax windfall. Their petition called the marsh “waste land breeding fever and mosquitoes,” and the Esker Courier promised that drainage would “double the county’s tax rolls.” The costs, however, fell on more people than the petition named: the district’s assessment roll charged all 61 landowners within a mile of the marsh, petitioners or not. Lena Whitlow, a hay farmer who never signed, wrote in 1913 that her assessment cost “more than the hay is worth.” The Tamarack Duck Club lost more than money, claiming in its 1912 lawsuit that the ditches had destroyed its hunting grounds. By 1920, county records show 2,600 acres of the old marsh in corn and onions, so the petitioners’ prediction came true; the sources suggest, though, that it came true partly at the expense of neighbors who never asked for the ditch.The paragraph answers the narrowed question, why and who paid, rather than retelling the sources. Each source does a job: the petition and editorial give the motives, the assessment roll and diary show who paid, the lawsuit shows a loss no assessment counted, and the county records test the prediction. The close draws a conclusion none of them states alone, which is what demonstrating understanding of the subject looks like.

Moves to Use

Rewrite a broad first question once the sources show where the real story is.Give each source a job in answering the question, not a turn to speak.Group sources by what they show, such as motives and costs, not by when you read them.End on a conclusion no single source states alone.

Common Mistakes with WHST.11-12.7

The source-by-source tour

“The petition said… The editorial said… The diary said…”

Try this: Have students sort their notes under the parts of their question, then draft each paragraph from one pile instead of one source.

A question that never changes

A final paper still answering “What happened to the marsh?”

Try this: Ask students to rewrite their question after the first round of reading and explain in one sentence what the sources showed them.

Taking one side’s measure of success

“By 1920 there were 2,600 acres of crops, so it was a success.”

Try this: Have students name who wrote each source and what that person stood to gain, then test every conclusion against the sources that disagree.

Where WHST.11-12.7 Fits

Comes BeforeWHST.9-10.7The same research expectation in grades 9 to 10, with questions and sources suited to that band.

AlongsideRH.11-12.9Integrate primary and secondary sources into a coherent understanding of an event, noting discrepancies, the reading side of synthesis.W.11-12.7The same research project expectations in English class.

Comes NextWHST.11-12.8Weigh each source’s strengths and limits for the task and cite it without leaning on any one.

Practice WHST.11-12.7

Quick Check

How did the student narrow her question, and why does it help?
From “What happened to Tamarack Marsh?” to why the county drained it in 1911 and who paid. The narrower question gives each source a job.
Which sources answer “who paid” in the strong paragraph?
The assessment roll, which charged all 61 nearby landowners, Lena Whitlow’s diary and the Tamarack Duck Club’s lawsuit.
What conclusion does the strong paragraph reach that no single source states?
That the petitioners’ prediction came true partly at the expense of neighbors who never asked for the drainage.

WHST.11-12.7: Other Names

WHST.11-12.7CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.7