When the Source Turns Out Not to Exist — Science Years 11–13
Subject adaptation · Years 11–13 · Science · Field-Based STEM · Tony Jones
Confident scientific writing and verified scientific writing are not the same thing. AI tools can produce citations that look correct and do not exist. The Verification Slip makes the difference between those two things assessable.
1Identify the claim
2Check against an approved source
3Name the limit
4Attach and submit
Strategy — Verification Slip
At the briefing stage for any extended science writing task, tell students that the Verification Slip is a required component of submission, not an optional addition. Introduce it early enough that students build it into their process.
Students name one specific claim their work makes: a quantitative claim, a causal claim, or a claim about scientific consensus. Not the topic — the claim itself.
Students identify one class-approved source that supports that specific claim, naming author, title or journal, and page or section. The source must support the claim named, not just the general topic area.
Students state one thing that could make the claim less reliable: a sample size issue, a methodological limitation, a source that disagrees, or a condition under which the claim would not hold.
The slip travels with the submitted work and is assessed as a component of it. A slip naming a source that does not exist is addressed before any grade is applied.
Year-Band Practice
Years 11–13 · BiologyThe Verification Slip applies to any claim about biological mechanisms. If the claim involves recent research, the source check should confirm the publication date as well as the finding. AI tools frequently produce plausible-sounding recent citations that cannot be located.
Years 11–13 · Chemistry and PhysicsFor quantitative claims, the slip should name the conditions under which the stated value applies and at least one condition under which it would differ. Precision about conditions is precision about science.
Years 11–13 · NCEA alignmentThe Verification Slip supports Merit and Excellence descriptors that require students to link evidence to claims with precision and to identify limitations in their reasoning. It makes that requirement concrete and checkable at submission.
Implementation Notes
Decision checkpointThe source named on the slip must exist and must support the specific claim stated. A source addressing the general topic but not the specific claim is not a valid entry and should prompt a conversation before any grade is recorded.
Teacher judgement noteWhen a student submits a slip naming a source that cannot be verified or does not exist, ask them to show you the source before any grade is applied. This is a literacy conversation, not a disciplinary one.
Related frameworksVerification Slip (core) · Evidence Overlay · Provenance in a Synthetic Media Era
