How to Read a Primary Source

When interpreting anything created in a different time and place than your own, it’s essential to ask thoughtful questions. For example, a movie made in the 1980s deserves the same scrutiny as a legal code written 3,000 years ago. Historians typically ask the following questions when analyzing primary sources:

• Author. Who created the source? If known, what was the author’s position in society—high status, low status, ruling group, subject group? Look for what the author repeats, exaggerates, and ignores to discover their point of view.
• Purpose. What is the source’s agenda (to persuade, to inform, to frighten, to inspire)?
• Context. What were the conditions at the time of the source’s creation? Knowing there was a war or religious dispute underway can illuminate why a source says what it does.
• Values. How do the ideas and values in the source compare to our own? What parts of the text might seem objectionable today, but were accepted at the time?
• Audience. Who was meant to see the source—a king, a crowd, a family member? The intended audience shapes tone, language, and argument.

Different sources have different expectations and formats. A court record or political speech will look and sound different than a private letter or memoir—keep that in mind. Some sources in this reader may include unfamiliar names or references to distant places, cultures, or historical eras. Be sure to read the introductions provided for each text, and don’t let unfamiliar elements discourage you.