CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7
The Standard
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 for English Language Arts · Writing Standards
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students form a focused research question, gather useful information from several sources, and change the question’s scope when needed. They combine source ideas into a supported answer rather than listing separate summaries.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students develop a manageable question and adjust its scope when evidence is too broad, too limited, or points in a new direction. They connect evidence from several sources to support a clear answer and explain agreements or conflicts among sources.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat a broad topic as a research question or rely on the first useful source they find. They may summarize sources one at a time instead of connecting ideas, noting conflicts, and drawing conclusions.
How to Assess It
- Give students three short source excerpts and the question, “How does sleep affect teen learning?” Ask them to narrow it and write a synthesis using two excerpts.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups source cards on teen sleep, then have them sort evidence into agreements, conflicts, causes, and effects.
Ask students to revise “How does technology affect people?” into a focused question and explain why the new scope is manageable.
Run a Research Question Clinic where pairs earn points by narrowing, broadening, or clarifying question cards correctly.
Have students investigate a school concern, such as lunch waste, using interviews, survey results, and school records to propose a solution.
Free download
Printable W.9-10.7 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7, 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 worksheetBefore This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.7
The Grades 11–12 version of this standard.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.7
The Grades 9–10 version of this standard.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.