D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Composing Complex Texts: Research, Story, Argument, Analysis and Media

Research: Synthesizing, Citing and Using Content Ethically

D1.3 D2.1 A2.3 A2.1About 55 minutes

Learning goals

I can synthesize information from several sources, explaining where they agree, disagree and add something new.
I can cite every source of content created by others, with in-text citations and a works cited list in a common style (MLA).
I can integrate sources smoothly with signal phrases, paraphrases and short quotations.
I can explain the legal and ethical rules for using others' work: copyright, permission, fair dealing, Creative Commons and honest use of AI.

Words to know

synthesize
Combine ideas from several sources into a new, bigger understanding that is your own.

cite
To give credit to the source of words, ideas, images, data or media you used.

in-text citation
A short credit inside your writing, such as (Lee 14), that points to the full entry in your works cited list.

works cited
The list of all the sources you used, in alphabetical order, at the end of a text (MLA style).

MLA style
A citation style from the Modern Language Association, used in many high school English classes.

copyright
The legal right of a creator to control how their work is copied and shared.

fair dealing
A part of Canada's Copyright Act that allows limited use of others' work for purposes such as research, private study, education, criticism, review and news reporting, if the use is fair.

Creative Commons
Licences creators can use to let others share or reuse their work under stated conditions, such as giving credit.

Remember from Grade 7

In Grade 7 you synthesized information with a synthesis grid (questions across the top, sources down the side), paraphrased without patchwriting, introduced sources with signal phrases (According to...), used the quotation sandwich and kept a source list.

In Grade 8 you'll write a formal works cited list in MLA style, the style many Ontario high school English classes use, add in-text citations, and learn the legal and ethical rules for using images, music, video and AI in your texts. The curriculum says to cite the sources of all content created by others: words, ideas, data, images, sounds and video.

Three pretend sources on one question

Inquiry question: Do outdoor rinks still matter to Ontario communities? (All sources are invented for this lesson.)

Source 1: Morgan Lee, Ice Time: Community Rinks in Canada, a book published by Northshore Press in 2023. On page 14: "An outdoor rink costs a town far less than an indoor arena, and it is free for anyone with skates."
Source 2: a 2025 web article, "Warmer Winters, Shorter Seasons," by Dana Okafor on the website Lakeside Weather Watch. It reports that volunteers in several towns say their outdoor rink seasons have become shorter and less predictable.
Source 3: your own interview with Mr. Ruiz, a volunteer who floods your neighbourhood rink, on 18 January 2026: "Some nights there are forty kids out here. For some of them it's the only place they skate all year."

An outdoor skating rink with wooden boards in a snowy town park, with a few skaters and a small warming hut. — An outdoor community rink like the ones in this lesson's inquiry question. Notice how many different sources (a book, a web article, an interview) could each tell you something different about a place like this. AI-generated image

Worked example

Let's synthesize, not summarize one by one

Write a synthesis paragraph using all three sources.

Find the connection: Sources 1 and 3 agree that outdoor rinks give free, open access to skating. Source 2 adds a problem: shorter seasons.
Start with your own idea (a topic sentence that no single source says): Outdoor rinks remain important to Ontario communities, but their future depends on how towns respond to changing winters.
Bring in sources by idea, with signal phrases and citations: Community rinks are an affordable way to give everyone a place to skate. Morgan Lee points out that an outdoor rink "is free for anyone with skates" (14). Mr. Ruiz, a volunteer who floods a neighbourhood rink, sees this every night, with as many as "forty kids" on the ice, some of whom skate nowhere else (Ruiz).
Add the complication: However, volunteers in several towns report that their seasons have become shorter and less predictable (Okafor).
End with your own insight: If outdoor rinks matter this much, towns may need to plan for shorter seasons, for example with shaded rink locations or a shared schedule with an indoor arena, instead of giving up on them.

A synthesis paragraph has your idea first and last, uses sources as evidence by idea, and shows where sources agree and add complications.

Synthesis groups sources by idea, not one by one. Two sources agree, one adds a complication, and your own idea pulls them together.

MLA style: two parts that work together

1. In-text citation: a short credit in brackets, usually the author's last name and a page number if there is one: (Lee 14). If you name the author in your sentence, give only the page: Morgan Lee points out... (14). Web pages usually have no page numbers: (Okafor).

2. Works cited list: at the end, titled Works Cited, in alphabetical order by the first word of each entry (usually the author's last name), with a hanging indent (second lines indented). Here is the basic MLA pattern:

Author Last name, First name. Title of Source. Container (the website, magazine or book it's in), other contributors, version, number, Publisher, Date, Location (page numbers or URL).

You only include the parts your source has.

Kind of source	Works cited entry (MLA)
Book	Lee, Morgan. Ice Time: Community Rinks in Canada. Northshore Press, 2023.
Web article	Okafor, Dana. "Warmer Winters, Shorter Seasons." Lakeside Weather Watch, 2025, www.lakesideweatherwatch.example/winters.
Your own interview	Ruiz, Alberto. Personal interview. 18 Jan. 2026.

Works cited entries for the three pretend sources. Book and website titles are in italics; article titles go in quotation marks. The web address is made up.

The in-text citation (Lee 14) points readers to the entry that starts with Lee in the Works Cited list. Entries are alphabetical, with a hanging indent, and book and website titles are in italics.

Check with your teacher

MLA is common in high school English, but some teachers or subjects use other styles, such as APA (often used in science and social sciences). The habit is the same in every style: credit every source in the text and in a list at the end, so readers can find what you used.

Using content legally and ethically

Copyright protects creators' work automatically, whether or not you see a © symbol. Images found in a search are not free just because they're online.
Fair dealing in Canada's Copyright Act allows limited use for purposes such as research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism, review and news reporting, as long as the use is fair. A short quotation in a school essay, with a citation, is usually fine. Copying a whole article or using a whole song in a public video usually is not.
Permission: to use someone's photo, music or words beyond fair dealing, ask the creator. For photos of people, you also need the person's permission, especially before posting online.
Creative Commons licences let creators say how others may reuse their work. Most require attribution (credit). Some say non-commercial or no changes. Follow the exact licence.
Your own photos, drawings and recordings are the safest choice.
AI: if your teacher allows AI tools, say how you used them (for example, I used an AI tool to brainstorm questions). Don't present AI-generated writing or images as your own work, and verify any facts in real sources.

Worked example

Let's credit an image

You found a photo of a frozen pond on a site where the photographer, Sam Tremblay, shared it under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). How do you use it?

Check the licence: CC BY means you may share and adapt it if you give credit.
Write a caption credit under the image: Photo: "Frozen Pond at Dawn" by Sam Tremblay, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
If you cropped or changed it, say so: cropped from the original.
Add a link to the original and the licence if your text is digital.

Credit the title, creator, licence, any changes, and a link. (Sam Tremblay and the photo are pretend.)

Just for fun

Funny but true: the MLA Handbook is on its ninth edition. Even the rule book for citing sources has had to be revised and re-published eight times, so don't feel bad about your second draft.

Hands-on activity

Build a mini research file

You need: two books or magazines from home or the library, a parent-approved web page, a family member to interview, index cards or paper, a pencil.

Choose an inquiry question (maybe from the planning lesson).
Take notes from three sources: a print source, a web page and a short interview. Put one idea per card, with the source and page number on each card.
Lay the cards out and group them by idea, not by source. Mark where sources agree and where they disagree or add something new.
Write one synthesis paragraph with your own topic sentence, at least two sources, signal phrases and in-text citations.
Write a Works Cited list in MLA style, in alphabetical order, with a hanging indent (or indent the second line by hand).

Your turn

What is the difference between summarizing sources and synthesizing them?

Write an MLA in-text citation for a quotation from page 22 of a book by Priya Shah.

In what order do you list entries in a Works Cited list?

Put this book into MLA form: author Jordan Blake, title Winter Roads, publisher Pinecone Books, 2024.

True or false: an image is free to use if it appears in a search engine's image results.

Name three purposes allowed under fair dealing in Canada.

What must you almost always do to use a Creative Commons image?

More practice: warm-up

What does cite mean?

What is the title of the MLA source list?

Are book titles in MLA written in italics or in quotation marks?

Are web article titles in MLA written in italics or in quotation marks?

What is the safest kind of image to use in your project?

More practice: on your own

Fix this patchwritten sentence. Original: Volunteers in several towns say their outdoor rink seasons have become shorter and less predictable. Patchwrite: Helpers in some towns say their outdoor rink seasons have gotten shorter and less predictable.

Put these entries in correct Works Cited order: Okafor..., Lee..., Ruiz..., Brant...

You want to use 15 seconds of a popular song as background music in a video you'll post publicly. Is this a good idea? What could you do instead?

Write a synthesis sentence that connects these two pretend sources: Source A says bike lanes reduce crashes; Source B says many residents worry bike lanes slow down car traffic.

A photo shows your friend at a hockey game. Whose permission do you need before posting it on a class website?

Challenge

Write a full MLA Works Cited entry for this pretend web article: author Lena Moreau, title How Snow Fences Work, website Prairie Science Hub, published 3 February 2025, URL www.prairiesciencehub.example/snow-fences.

Explain why citing sources is about more than avoiding trouble. Give at least two reasons.

You used an AI tool to suggest an outline, then wrote and researched your report yourself. Write a short, honest note about your AI use, and explain one thing you should not do.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is the best example of synthesis?

Which is a correct MLA in-text citation for page 14 of a book by Morgan Lee?

How is a Works Cited list ordered?

Which use is most likely to be fair dealing?

A Creative Commons CC BY licence means you may reuse the work if you…

What does the curriculum say you must cite?

For parents and teachers

Big ideas (D1.3, D2.1, A2.3): Grade 8 students gather and synthesize information and cite the sources of all content created by others, and draft texts that cite sources. Strand A asks them to respect legal and ethical considerations when using information (A2.3) and to act as responsible digital citizens, including getting permission (A2.1).

How to help at home:

When your child takes notes, ask: Where did this come from? Which page?
Help them find the author, title, publisher and date in a book's opening pages.
Talk about photos: Whose permission would we need to post this?

Common difficulties:

Listing sources one by one instead of combining ideas. Ask: What do these sources say together?
Forgetting to cite paraphrases. Ideas need credit too, not only quotations.
Assuming online images and music are free.

Note: All sources, people and web addresses in this lesson are invented for teaching (the web addresses end in .example so they can't be real sites). Citation details vary slightly between MLA editions and teachers; follow your child's teacher's guidelines.