CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8
The Standard
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find useful details in books, articles, databases, and websites. They check who created each source, verify claims, and combine findings using notes, paraphrases, quotations, and citations.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a research question, students select reliable sources, explain why each is trustworthy, and record citation details. They combine related findings, paraphrase accurately, and clearly mark borrowed words and ideas.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may trust the first search result, assume every .org site is reliable, or treat popularity as proof. They may copy sentences with minor word changes, cite only quotations, or list sources without connecting their ideas.
How to Assess It
- Give students two short sources about one topic, one reliable and one questionable. Ask them to choose the stronger source, name two credibility clues, paraphrase one fact, and cite it.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Sort printed webpages into reliable, questionable, and unreliable groups, then label each page with evidence such as author, date, sources, and publisher.
Write a response to this prompt: Which source deserves your trust, and what specific details support your choice?
Play Citation Relay: teams match source cards, note cards, paraphrases, quotations, and citations, then correct any plagiarism errors.
Research a proposed school change, compare reports and survey results, then write a cited recommendation for the principal.
Free download
Printable CCRA.W.8 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quo...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quo...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of ...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quo...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.