How do I do Sourcework?

This is a question which many students have written to ask about. What follows are suggestions only, and by far the best way to learn how to do these will be to write answers to actual questions and get you teacher to mark them.

REMEMBER
THE FIRST thing to do when confronted by a Sourcework question is to establish: WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS IT?

There are FIVE types of Sourcework question:

Extraction

(ie what can we GET OUT of this source?)

eg What can we learn from Source(s) A (B,C etc.)... about <???> ?

REMEMBER The examiners will usually ask this about a specific issue addressed by the source, so IGNORE anything in the source which does not deal with what they are asking about. REMEMBER This is usually a smaller/easier question, so look at how many marks are up for grabs and don't spend too long on it.

1st 2nd

Describe what the surface information says - if the question is worth 3 marks, simply list three relevant facts the source tells you. If the question is worth 5 marks, see what the source infers is there a message between the lines/ is it trying to create an impression/ is there an underlying message/ does it tell you further things about the author/the times/the situation? Include at least two inferences. Can you 'put two things from the source together' to deduce something further?

Differences
eg Why is source As interpretation different to Source Bs?
1st 2nd If you have been asked simply HOW the content differs, look first for OBVIOUS surface differences of fact, but then study the words/ details to deduce differences in approach, emphasis or tone. If you have been asked WHY the sources are different, you will need to compare who wrote them, in what situation, and the motives/ intentions/purpose of the author - depends on the sources and the wording of the question. This is a question when it is usually vital to use your own knowledge Make sure you come to a CONCLUSION based on facts/inferences/interpretations in the sources.

3rd

REMEMBER
when answering: ALWAYS use a quote/ facts from the Sources. ALWAYS use your own knowledge/ FACTS - esp. when it says use your own knowledge ATBQ (= 'answer the bloody question')

Reliability
eg How accurate is Source A as a source of information...?
REMEMBER primary sources (from the time) are immediate and even eyewitness, but they may lack perspective/ objectivity/ may be biased. Secondary sources (written afterwards eg textbooks) can be dispassionate and use a number of primary sources, but they may be guilty of misinterpreting facts (until the 1960s, history books were often written to carry a message eg Marxist, Nazi) REMEMBER sometimes the question may ask you about the 'accuracy' of the source = reliability!

1st 2nd

3rd

Test the information/claims of the source against other sources and your own knowledge. Does it give the true facts and feelings from the time use your own knowledge. VITAL:Look at the provenance to establish context, origin and purpose the situation in which it was written, who wrote it, and whether it is one-sided/propaganda etc. Look at sufficiency does it give the whole story what has it missed? Relate what you are saying to the specific context of the source - try to talk not only about generalities such as 'it may be biased', but about the specific situation (e.g. <N> would be biased because...') Make sure you come to a CONCLUSION based on facts.

Utility

(utility = 'usefulness' to historians)

eg How useful is Source A to?

REMEMBER nothing is ever useless; even the most biased source reveals what that author thought. Talk most about the ways in which the source is useful. REMEMBER this is a question about Quantity and Quality - how much information is it telling you, and how reliable is the information it is telling you? A USEFUL source is a source that TELLS YOU A LOT and WHICH YOU CAN TRUST. REMEMBER sometimes the question may ask you about the 'validity' of the source = utility!

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Look at what the source is telling you and compare it to what you need/would like to know remember both surface and inferred information. Measure the sufficiency of the source how much info/ are there gaps? Useful for what? Can you trust the author's statements? Look at accuracy, context, origin and purpose: a source which is inaccurate may be useful for revealing the author's opinions and prejudices, but it is not useful for telling us the facts. Is the authors view objective/typical? Compare the source's STRENGTHS against its LIMITATIONS and come to a CONCLUSION.

Reaching Conclusions
eg Use all the Sources to debate . . . .
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Recount relevant surface/inferred information from the Sources. Realise that the sources support both sides of the argument., and that you can use the sources and your own knowledge to argue both for and against the proposition. Weigh the evidence to come down one way or the other, OR state case and prove it, discounting contrary evidence VITAL: Refer to the content and utility (sufficiency/ accuracy and reliability) of the sources in debate.

How do I interpret a cartoon?

Examiners like to set cartoon questions, I think, because they believe that they will make it easier for the pupils. How wrong could they be!!!

Cartoons... are REALLY hard

much harder than text sources.

What is involved...
When you teacher looks at a cartoon and interprets it, hes really using three historians tools at once:

Knowledge about the events in that period

Seeing & understanding different things in the cartoon

Thinking about the cartoonist, and his motives

To interpret a cartoon, you have to integrate the three skills using them to inform the others. So, for instance, what you know about the period in which the cartoon was drawn will help you understand whats in the cartoon but, very often, whats in the cartoon adds to your understanding of what was going on at the time. So your brain has to to-and-fro and go round the different skills, and all the time your understanding of the cartoon is growing. This page will give you a routine to help you interpret a cartoon:

Theory...
Do things in this order:

First: Think about the events in that period

Look at the date. Think what was happening at that time. Who was involved?

Second: See the different things in the cartoon

At first, just make a list of things you see. List the things that are in the cartoon, what they are doing, and how they are presented. When I do this with pupils, they always choose one or two things and MISS lots, even big things! Often, in a cartoon, everything (even little things) has a meaning. So study the details and jot them down (but dont start to try yet to say what they mean).

Third: Think about the cartoonist, and his motives

Look at WHO drew the cartoon, and where he came from. What would he have thought about the topic he was drawing about? What would he have been wanting to say?

Fourth: Go back to the cartoon

Look at your list of things you saw. Can you see what/who they stand for what they are saying what they mean? When you have thought about all the elements, think: What is the overall message of the cartoon?

Last: Go back to the events

Now you have thought about the cartoon and its meaning, think: What does all this help you to understand about the time,

and how people thought and felt? NOW I think thats VERY hard.

Practice...
To make things clearer, lets go through the sequence once again, but this time working with an actual cartoon. This cartoon appeared in an AQA exam in 2001.

A cartoon with the title Clemenceau the Vampire

From the German newspaper Kladderadatsch (July 1919)
The figure lying on the bed represents Germany. Clemenceau was Prime Minister of France in 1919. He is shown as a vampire sucking the blood out of Germany.

Lets now go through the steps to interpret this cartoon:

Click the blue headings to reveal the answers:

1. What do you know about the events in that period?

Think about what you know of events about the date July 1919. Make a list of 'key facts. Then click the blue text to reveal what I wrote down. Germany had just been defeated in WWI. The Treaty of Versailles had been signed on 28 June 1919. It had been written by the Big Three and imposed on Germany. Clemenceau wanted to ruin Germany The Treaty blamed Germany for the war The Treaty made her pay reparations for ALL the damage. Germany lost lots of land. Germany had to give up most of her armed forces. The Germans hated the Treaty.

2. See the different things in the cartoon

Now make a list of all the things you see in the cartoon. Not all these things may have a meaning, but list them anyway. Then click the blue text to reveal what I wrote down. Young girl beautiful but poorly. Vampire evil-looking. The Vampire is sucking the girls blood. Weapons laid to one side. Two more bats outside the window. A bed. The curtains are blowing the window is open.

3. Think about the cartoonist, and his motives

What would be your answer to the following questions? Think about your answers, then click the blue text to reveal what I wrote down. WHO drew the cartoon, and where did he come from? A German newspaperman. What would he have thought about the topic he was drawing about? He would probably have hated the Treaty like other Germans. What would he have been wanting to say? He would have been biased against the Treaty He would have wanted to say that the Treaty was too harsh. He would have wanted to say that it was a wicked, unfair Treaty.

4. Interpret the cartoon

Look at our list of things we saw. For each, try to suggest what/who they stood for and what they were saying (what they meant)? If you think an element doesnt have a particular meaning, then say: No meaning. Then click the blue text to reveal what I wrote down. Young girl beautiful but poorly. Germany is a wonderful country, but she has just been defeated in the war and is very weak. Vampire evil-looking. The Vampire stands for Clemenceau. He is a wicked, evil man who just wants to hurt Germany. The Vampire is sucking the girls blood. just like Clemenceau (by taking reparations/ land from Germany) is killing Germans by sucking the life blood out of Germany. Weapons laid to one side. The Treaty of Versailles had made Germany give up her submarines and planes, and most of the army and navy. Two more bats outside the window. These are Britain and America helping Clemenceau, and waiting to take their share. A bed. Perhaps this doesnt mean anything, but I think it adds an element of sex. Clemenceau is not just killing Germany, he is violating her sort of raping her when she cannot defend her honour. It makes what he is doing is seem just so much more immoral and disgusting. The curtains are blowing the window is open. Germany cannot defend herself. The way is open for other countries to swoop in and take what they want from defenceless Germany. What is the overall message of the cartoon? The cartoonist is saying that Clemenceau was an evil man, who wanted to violate Germany, and that the Treaty in taking land and reparations from Germany, and in not letting Germany have an army would kill Germany (which was already weak after the war). Click here to see a PowerPoint presentation which takes you through the steps of interpreting this cartoon.

5. What does all this tell us about the events of the time?
What does all this help you to understand about the time, and how people thought and felt? It shows historians (click the blue text to see what I thought): that the Germans thought the Treaty of Versailles would ruin Germany, that they thought it was wicked what it had done to Germany, how much they hated the French,

how much they hated reparations, that they were scared that the reduction of their armed forces left them defenceless, that they blamed Britain and America too