This is an important skill at Intermediate level. Important also because without evaluating the usefulness or reliability of sources, there is no such thing as History.
Use the following checklist to help you remember ...
ORIGIN
PURPOSE
CONTENT
RECALL
Origin : This means that you have to look at
WHAT kind of source?
- Primary sources from the actual time can be useful and reliable because they were produced by a person who was actually there.
- Secondary sources can also be useful and reliable because they are produced by historians who are experts at finding out the truth about the past.
WHO wrote the source?
- Sources produced by someone who had good knowledge of the subject can be useful / reliable because they were produced by a person who knew what they were talking about.
Purpose : this means that you have to look at ...
WHY the source was produced?
- A source which was produced to find out the facts can be useful / reliable.
- A source which was produced to try to persuade people about something might not be telling the whole truth. It’s purpose is to persuade not to tell the truth.
Content : this means that you have to ...
- Say what the source tells you. DO NOT COPY large chunks of the source. Write what it tells you in your own words. You can quote small parts of the source. Put these quotes in quotation marks.
Recall : this means that you have to ...
- Use your own K&U. Has the source missed out anything? If it has, then you should say so and also say what has been missed out.
Conclusion : Finish with a short sentence. Say whether the source is useful / reliable OVERALL. Say what the STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES of the source are.
