DoAssignment study guide

D1.3 · Evaluate sources and cite borrowed ideas

Learn to evaluate sources and cite borrowed ideas through clear examples and targeted practice.

Ontario Grade 9 English

Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts

Ontario Grade 9 English — study-guide label D1.3: Evaluate sources and cite borrowed ideas

When you use a source, two responsibilities go together: decide whether it deserves to be trusted for your purpose, and make clear which ideas came from it. A polished-looking page is not automatically reliable, and changing a few words does not make a borrowed idea your own. This lesson uses invented classroom examples, not real publications or claims about real people. You will practise asking what a source can support, acknowledging its contribution, and revising your own explanation without losing your voice.

What you will learn

Judge whether a source gives useful, checkable support for a particular claim.
Distinguish what a source actually says from what you infer from it.
Show clearly when an idea or wording comes from a source, including when you paraphrase.
Use questions, feedback, and revision to make source-based communication clearer for an audience.

1. Start with the claim and the source

Suppose your class is discussing whether a school should add more shaded places outdoors. Before searching or sharing a claim, make the question specific. A source that describes shade at one school may help you discuss that school; by itself, it cannot establish what every school needs. Source evaluation is not simply labelling something “good” or “bad.” It means checking whether the information is suitable for the claim and purpose you have in mind.

Use a few plain questions. Who created the material, if that information is provided? What evidence does it show? Can you check where the evidence came from? When was it made, and does that timing matter to this question? Does the source have a clear connection to the topic? What does it leave unanswered? A source may be useful for one point and weak for another. If the creator, date, or evidence is missing, say that you do not know rather than filling in the gap.

Read this invented short passage: “At lunch, the only bench beside the gym was in full sun. Three students moved their bags to the covered entrance. The school should add shade near the yard.” These words provide observations and a recommendation. They do not tell us the temperature, how often this happens, or what all students prefer. A reader might reasonably infer that some students sought a covered place. Another might note that the passage does not explain why they moved their bags. Both readings stay close to the details; neither should be presented as a fact the passage proves.

Evaluate a source for a particular question, not by appearance alone.
Separate details stated in the source from conclusions you draw.
Notice missing information and avoid claiming more than the evidence supports.

2. Credit ideas in your own words

A borrowed idea still needs credit when you restate it in different words. A direct quotation uses a source’s exact wording and marks it clearly; a paraphrase explains the source’s idea in your own wording. In both cases, identify the source so your reader or listener can tell where the idea came from. Follow the citation format your teacher or assignment asks for. If you have not been given enough source details to create a full reference, do not invent them. Ask for the missing information or use the class’s agreed way of identifying the material.

A useful paraphrase does more than swap a couple of words. First, make sure you understand the source. Then look away from its wording and explain the idea naturally, keeping its meaning and limits. Compare your version with the source: have you changed the meaning, copied a distinctive phrase, or added a claim the source does not make? Add a clear attribution near the borrowed idea. Keep your own response distinct from the source’s contribution.

For example, if the invented passage says three students moved their bags to the covered entrance, a writer could say, “The classroom passage describes three students moving their bags toward a covered entrance.” That sentence points to the supplied passage and reports its detail without claiming that all students prefer shade. If the writer then argues that the school should investigate where shade is needed, that proposal is the writer’s own next step and should be signalled as such.

Credit a source’s idea even when you paraphrase it.
Use quotation marks for exact borrowed wording and identify its source.
Do not invent source details or extend a source’s claim beyond its evidence.

3. Practise, get feedback, and revise

For a short research paragraph, speaking point, or digital post, begin with your purpose and audience: what should they understand, and what information do they need to check your point? Keep a simple record of each source as you work: the identifying details that are actually supplied, the relevant idea or evidence, and your note about how it relates to your claim. In a shared document or online search, keep track of where material came from before copying notes into a draft. A link alone does not show that a source supports your point.

Draft with a clear distinction between source information and your own thinking. For example, “The supplied school passage reports . This suggests , although it does not tell us .” The first blank should accurately report the source; the second is your interpretation; the third names a limit. This structure is a support, not a sentence you must copy. Choose wording that sounds like you and fits your audience.

Ask a peer for evidence-based feedback: “Can you tell which idea came from the source?” “Does my sentence claim more than the source shows?” “What detail would you need to check this?” Then revise for accuracy and clarity. You might add attribution, narrow an overgeneral statement, or explain why a source is relevant. Revision is not just making writing sound formal; it is making the connection between evidence, source, and your own point easier to follow.

For independent practice, find a source allowed by your assignment and record its supplied identifying details. Choose one idea that matters to your question. Write a short paraphrase with attribution, then add one sentence of your own reasoning and one limitation or unanswered question. If you are speaking, name the source aloud and distinguish its information from your conclusion. If the source details are unclear, pause and ask your teacher how to identify it rather than guessing.

Plan for purpose and audience, and keep source details while researching.
Use feedback to check accuracy, attribution, and the limits of a claim.
Revise while preserving your own voice and making borrowed ideas visible.

Worked example

Evaluate a short passage

Use the invented passage in Section 1. Identify one observation, one reasonable inference, and one thing the passage does not establish.

Find a stated detail
The passage directly says that three students moved their bags to the covered entrance. This is an observation because it reports what the text states, without adding a reason.
Mark an inference
It is reasonable to infer that those students may have been seeking cover, because the passage mentions full sun and a covered entrance. The passage does not tell us their thoughts, so present this as a possibility, not a confirmed fact.
Name a limit
The passage does not establish what all students want or how often the situation occurs. Those questions would need additional evidence.

Answer: Observation: three students moved their bags to the covered entrance. Possible inference: they may have been seeking cover. Limit: the passage does not show that all students want more shade.

Check: Each conclusion is tied to the passage, and the inference is identified as uncertain.

Worked example

Paraphrase and attribute

Using only the invented passage, write one sentence that reports its detail in your own words and makes the source of the idea clear.

Keep the source’s meaning
The sentence should preserve the specific detail: three students moved their bags toward a covered place. Do not turn that small observation into a statement about every student.
Make attribution visible
Name the supplied passage so a reader can see where the detail comes from. Since the example provides no real author or publication information, do not invent any.

Answer: One acceptable sentence is: “The invented classroom passage describes three students moving their bags toward the covered entrance.” Other wording is also acceptable if it is accurate and identifies the passage.

Check: The sentence paraphrases the detail, credits its source, and does not add unsupported information.

Worked example

Revise an overstatement

A draft says, “Everyone at the school wants more shade.” Revise it using only the invented passage, and explain what evidence is still needed.

Compare the claim with the evidence
The passage describes three students, not everyone at the school. The draft makes a wider claim than its source supports.
Narrow the statement
Revise so the sentence describes the reported detail and identifies the passage. Then name what further evidence would help assess students’ views more broadly.

Answer: A careful revision is: “The invented classroom passage describes three students moving their bags to a covered entrance, suggesting that shade may matter to some students.” To learn what students more broadly prefer, we would need additional evidence that directly addresses their views.

Check: The revision narrows the claim, credits the passage, and treats the interpretation as a possibility.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Assuming a professional design, confident tone, or first search result proves a source is reliable.

Correction: Check who made it, what evidence it provides, and whether you can verify the relevant details. Judge whether it fits your question.

Changing a few words and treating the borrowed idea as your own.

Correction: Explain the idea in your own wording and still identify the source. Keep exact borrowed wording clearly marked as a quotation.

Turning a small detail into a claim about a whole school or group.

Correction: Match the size of your claim to the evidence, and identify what more you would need to know.

Guessing an author, date, title, or link to complete a citation.

Correction: Use only details actually supplied. Ask for missing information or follow the teacher’s instructions for identifying the material.

Lesson summary

Evaluate whether a source is suitable for your purpose by checking its creator, evidence, checkable details, timing, and limits.
Separate what a source says from what you reasonably infer.
Identify borrowed ideas whether you quote or paraphrase; never invent citation details.
Use feedback and revision to make claims accurate and attribution clear while keeping your own voice.

Check your understanding

Question 1

An invented class source says that two students chose the shaded side of a courtyard. Which statement stays closest to the evidence?

Everyone prefers the shaded side.
The source describes two students choosing the shaded side.
The shaded side is always cooler.
The school must build more shade.

Show answer and explanation

The source describes two students choosing the shaded side.

This option reports the specific detail given. The other choices add claims or recommendations the source does not establish.

Question 2

You paraphrase an idea from a source. What should you do?

Leave out the source because the wording is different.
Identify the source and make sure the paraphrase preserves its meaning.
Add quotation marks around every paraphrase.
Change the source’s meaning to make the sentence original.

Show answer and explanation

Identify the source and make sure the paraphrase preserves its meaning.

A paraphrase uses your wording but still credits the borrowed idea and accurately represents it.

Question 3

A page gives a claim but no creator or evidence. What is the most careful response?

Treat the claim as true because it is online.
Invent the missing details so you can cite it.
Note that key information is missing and seek checkable support before relying on it.
Use the claim as proof of a broader conclusion.

Show answer and explanation

Note that key information is missing and seek checkable support before relying on it.

Missing information limits what you can assess. Do not fill gaps by guessing; seek evidence you can check.

Key terms

Source: Material that provides information or ideas, such as a text, page, recording, or class handout.
Evaluate: Judge how useful and trustworthy material is for a particular purpose by checking its evidence and limits.
Paraphrase: Explain a source’s idea in your own wording while keeping its meaning and identifying the source.
Attribution: A clear signal that an idea or wording comes from a particular source.
Inference: A reasonable idea drawn from details in a text, but not directly stated as a fact.

Continue through ENL1W

View the complete ENL1W Ontario Grade 9 English curriculum and lessons

About this lesson and its review

Published by DoAssignment. This reviewed lesson follows Ontario Grade 9 English (ENL1W), expectation D1.3. It is a study resource, not an official curriculum publication.

Before publication, content is checked for structure, mathematical or chemical notation, calculations, course boundaries, and readability. Errors can still occur, so corrections are welcomed.

Official curriculum reference

Report a correction or ask a question