We want to factor out the coefficient of the variable term — 17. Let's rewrite each term as a product of 17 and some other factor. To do so, note that every number equals itself multiplied by 1.
1{\dfrac{1}{7}a &= {\color{#FD9000}{\dfrac{1}{7}}} \cdot a \\[0.5em]
\dfrac{1}{7} &= {\color{#FD9000}{\dfrac{1}{7}}} \cdot 1 }
Now we can use the Distributive Property to factor the expression. Let's go!