How to Analyse a Historical Document 1

Steps

1. Reading and comprehension

2. Classify

3. Analysis

4. Conclusion

5. Personal opinion

Document Analysis

1. Reading and comprehension. Key ideas. Demonstrate that you understand the text.

2. Classify

-Category of the document

-Time frame and location

-Author

-Audience

a. Category of the document

- Legal / Journalistic / Political / literary (memoirs, letters, novels, etc), Documentary

(census / cadastre) / historiographical (text written by an author, usually a
historian, after the events took place) / historical circumstantial evidence (texts
that cannot be classified under the previous categories)

1
This document is based on the video “Pautas para la elaboración de un comentario de texto histórico”,
by Antonia Sagredo Santos. You can access the video here. The password to access the video is “lieu”. This
document should be used as a companion in English to the video.
b. Time frame and location

- Indicate the time frame and location of the text. Indicate its precise date and
connection to historical events or period. Describe the context in which it was
written (ideology, important economic, social and political factors).

c. Author

- State who is the author. He/she might be mentioned in the text. Bear in mind that
the author might not have signed the document and that some documents might
have a collective authorship.

d. Audience

- You need to identify who is the intended audience of the document. Is it a country,
a village, a nation, an international community?

3. Analysis

-Explain the historical message of the text.

-Analyse both implicit and explicit aspects of the text.

-Summarise its key points.

4. Conclusion

- Connect your historical knowledge with the text.

- Indicate why this text is relevant. Why is the text important to understand a
specific historical event, historical characters or a certain historical period?

In this section, you might want to comment on:

-Historical background: previous events leading to the event(s) in the text.

-Historical context: social, political and economic context relevant to the

event(s) in the text.

-Influence: consequences and future influence of the event(s) in the text.

5. Personal opinion

- Assess believability of the document and the author’s objectivity.

- Evaluate the evidence: reaffirm the thesis of the document and present your
personal evaluation of it.