09 HASS – Source Analysis Sheet 1 Name: ______________________________

Source Analysis Sheet 1

Step 1: Understand the Focus Question
a) Deconstruct the focus question
by underlining the key words
and annotating the interrogative
(i.e. why, how, to what extent)
Step 2: Deconstruct and Analyse the Sources
1. Annotate the Sources
 Written Sources: Read the text and circle any words you do not know
 Image Sources: Study the image and captions and make notes of what you see – people, objects, symbols, activities, etc.
 Look up those words or symbols, and make notes of definitions or synonyms around the margins of the page
Source 1:

When one realises the thousands of internal tariffs that obstructed traffic in

Germany up to 1834 and the innumerable tolls and charges that hindered trade in

France before 1789. . . it is clear that the political and economic freedom in England

was one of the causes of her industrial expansion.

Knowles, L. C. A. (1922). The Industrial and Commercial Revolutions in Great Britain During the
Nineteenth Century (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis Group. (adapted)

Context:
L. C. A. Knowles was a Professor of Modern Economic History at the University of
London

Source 2:

England. . . has been fortunate in possessing the natural conditions necessary to

success . . . We recognize that England is rich in these advantages, that she has coal

and iron lying close together, that her sheep give the best wool, that her harbors are

plentiful, that she is not ill-off for rivers, and that no part of the country is from the

sea.

Warner, G. T. (1899). Landmarks in English Industrial History. Blackie & Son.

Context:
George T. Warner was a scholar at Cambridge University.

Source 3:

While the reader craves a simple explanation, there is none to be had. The entire

question of why the industrial revolution started in England will never be definitively

answered. The event was sui generis—a one-off, as the English say—a bolt of

lightning; and there are a myriad of possible explanations for it.

Glaeser, E. (2010, June 22). Thinkers and Tinkerers. The New Republic.
https://newrepublic.com/article/75651/thinkers-and-tinkerers

Context: Edward Glaeser is an American Professor of Economics at Harvard

09 HASS – Source Analysis Sheet 1 Name: ______________________________

University. The New Republic is a magazine that was founded in 1914 as a journal of
opinion that seeks to debate and challenge popular opinions.
2. Identify the origin and purpose of each of the sources
a) Who created each
source?

What do you know about

the creators?
b) When were they
created?

What important historical

events were happing at the
time?
Source 1: ☐ Primary Source ☐ Secondary Source
c) What is the Source Type? Source 2: ☐ Primary Source ☐ Secondary Source
Source 3: ☐ Primary Source ☐ Secondary Source
d) Who was the intended
audience?
e) For what purpose were
each of them made?
3. Identify the points of view / perspective of each of the sources
a) What perspective does
each source contain?

Does they contain facts

or opinions?
b) Did you find any bias in
these sources? If so,
what bias was it?

Provide an example from

the sources that shows this
bias.
4. Evaluate the reliability and usefulness of each of the sources
a) Why are these source
useful to your research?

Do they provide relevant

information about your
focus question?
b) How reliable are these
sources?

Was the author in a

position to know about
the issue?

What other sources

corroborate the
information in these
source?
Step 3: Answer the Focus Question (using evidence from the source)
a) Respond to the Focus
Question in a TEEL
paragraph that uses
evidence from the sources
to justify your response.

In History, paragraphs are

09 HASS – Source Analysis Sheet 1 Name: ______________________________

a minimum of 150–200
words in length.

Use historical terms and

concepts related to the
topic.

Use in-text citations to

refer to your sources (i.e.
According to Source 1)
Note: you do not need to
include all of the sources

Use text connectors so

that your paragraph flows
from one sentence to the
next