Sources, Credibility & Citing
Aligned to W.8.8 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Gather information from several print and digital sources, judging each one's credibility. Quote or paraphrase without plagiarizing, and cite where your facts came from.
Worked examples
Example 1
Comparing two websites, you trust a university page over an anonymous blog, paraphrase its point in your own words, and note the source so a reader can check it.
Example 2
A university page can still be one researcher's opinion, and a blog can be written by the person who ran the study. Check the author, not only the domain.
Example 3
Cite as you go. Reconstructing where a fact came from two days later takes longer than writing it down did.
Practice questions
- Judge whether one source is credible and explain why.
- Paraphrase a fact instead of copying it word for word.
- Write a simple citation for a source you used.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Fuentes, Credibilidad y Citas
Reúne información de varias fuentes impresas y digitales, juzgando la credibilidad de cada una. Cita o parafrasea sin plagiar, e indica de dónde salieron tus datos.
Ejemplo 1: Al comparar dos sitios web, confías más en una página universitaria que en un blog anónimo, parafraseas su idea con tus palabras y anotas la fuente para que un lector pueda verificarla.
Ejemplo 2: Una página universitaria puede ser la opinión de un solo investigador, y un blog puede estar escrito por quien hizo el estudio. Revisa al autor, no solo el dominio.
Ejemplo 3: Cita mientras escribes. Reconstruir de dónde salió un dato dos días después toma más tiempo del que tomaba anotarlo.
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