Sierra’s Guide to the Primary Source Analysis: Texts

● WHAT kind of source is this? Diary, written speech manuscript, letter,

telegram, email, pamphlet, essay, meeting minutes, etc.
○ What are the conventions of that type of source?
○ Was this document originally written by the author, dictated and
written by someone else, drafted/edited/published by multiple
people?
○ How is it produced?
○ Is it carefully drafted with well-thought symbolism or
off-the-cuff?
○ Did the author intend it to be public?
○ Why did this source get preserved? How is it accessed?
● WHO is the author?
○ What is their class/race/gender/religion/job/political affiliation?
○ When did they write this?
○ What else was going on in their life when they wrote this? What
else was going on in the world?
○ Who is the intended audience?
○ Why did they write this? What did they intend the consequences
of this document to be?
○ Did the author have any reason to censor themselves/be
censored?
● HOW is it written?
○ Does the document reflect the time period in which it was
written? Does it confirm things you know about the time/place of
its production, or contradict them?
○ What is the tone/language like? Is it typical of this kind of
document and time period?
○ What is the author’s argument? Is it explicit or implicit?
○ Does it seem like the author’s argument was widely accepted or
controversial? What clues you into this?
● SO WHAT?
○ How does this document support/complicate/contradict what I
know about this historical period?
○ How can I use this document to answer a question I have about
the themes of the course?
○ What other information might better help me understand this
document?