How to read primary sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are direct, first-hand accounts that describe a particular time period or event.

• Examples of primary sources include published materials (books, magazine and journal articles, newspaper articles) written at the time, laws, memos, diary entries, autobiographies, paintings, archaeological artifacts, and speeches.

What is the difference between a primary source and secondary source?

A primary source comes directly from an individual who experienced the event or time period. Secondary sources analyze, synthesize, interpret or evaluate the time period or event through primary sources. Primary sources have not been filtered, but secondary sources have been filtered.

• Examples of secondary sources include biographies, textbooks, documentaries, encyclopedias, books.

How do you approach reading a primary source?

Questions to consider before you start reading a source

• When was this source written/published?
• Who is the author of this source? What is their background?
• What was the historical context of this source? What was going on in the world when this source was written?
• What type of primary source is this (i.e. diary entry, newspaper article)?
• What do I already know about this topic/era?
• What do I need to learn about this topic/era?

Questions to consider while reading a source

• What was going on in the author’s mind when they wrote this? Was the author writing with a specific goal in mind, or were they writing to document their own experiences?
• Is the author aware of the importance of their text?
  • e.g. it is highly unlikely that Anne Frank knew that her diary would be published and have immense historical significance; understanding this will influence your understanding of a text.
• Are there any assumptions made by the author that do not make sense to a modern audience?

Questions to consider after you have read a source

• How do the perspectives and knowledge put forth by the author of the text compare to what you know as a modern reader?
• Is there anything that makes this source less credible or believable? Are there any inconsistencies in this source?
• What questions can this source help me answer? What does it not answer?
• Was this source an accurate reflection of the time period in which it was written? If not, how do you know?
• What did you learn about the time period or event that the author was writing about?