Guidelines for the Analysis of a Historical Document
Guidelines for the Analysis of a Historical Document
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There are many different ways to interpret a primary source document, but historians seek above all to discover both themeaningand thesignificanceof a piece of historical evidence. The termmeaninginvolves the task of determining how a document might have been understood by the historical actors in a particular era.Significance, on the other hand, means relating how the document contributes to a particular interpretation of the past event, process or phenomenon developed by later-day generations. A good document analysis examines boththe text itself(with attention to the specifics and nuances of language used)and its context(the broader picture of the history of that period that informs the document). Here are some useful questions that can inform you reading of the document:
What is the document about?What is the topic of the text? What are the document’s main points? What evidence supports the ideas expressed in the text? (Do not just summarise the contents of the document here).
Who is the author?What authority does the author have to write about this topic? What in the author’s background or position might affect his or her point of view? Can you detect a bias in the author’s approach? (Give an example or two). How does the document reflect the author’s beliefs?
What is the occasion?When and where was the document written? What events or conditions might have affected the writing of the document?
Who is the audience?Who was the intended audience? How might the audience have interpreted and reacted to the content of the text? Was there an audience beyond the intended group?
What is the purpose?Why was this document written? Was there an implicit purpose or hidden agenda? Who would benefit or be harmed by the document? Why is it an important source? In what ways does it connect to specific events, phenomena, or themes of the period?
(Questions based on).
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