Interpreting Primary Sources
Sourcing
The act of looking first to the source of the document before reading the text.- Who wrote this document, when and where?
- What type of document is it and why did the author write it?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the document trustworthy? Why? Why not?
Contextualization
The act of locating a document in a time and place to understand how these factors shape itscontent.
- When and where was the document created?
- How might the circumstances in which the document was created affect its content?
Close Reading
The act of analyzing how an author communicates their ideas and/or persuades their audience.- What claims does the author make?
- What evidence does the author use?
- What language (words, phrases, images, symbols) does the author use to persuade the
- document’s audience?
- How does the document’s language indicate the author’s perspective?
Reading for Silences
The act of identifying what has been left out or is missing from a particular account. This mayinclude, but is not limited to context, historical information, and the voices and perspectives of
different social groups.
- What is the document’s author not mentioning?
- Whose voices are we not hearing in the document?
- Which perspectives are missing?
Corroboration
The act of comparing documents with one another for the purpose of checking important detailsagainst each other before accepting them as plausible or likely.
- What questions arise after careful reading of the document?
- Do other sources corroborate or refute this interpretation?