How do you analyse a primary source?

The easiest way to analyse a primary source (a source from the time period you are studying) is to remember the 4 Ws:

WHAT: What type of source is this? A letter, a picture, a diary entry?
WHEN: When was it written? Recently, 100 years ago, during a war or significant event?
WHO: Who wrote it? A king, a peasant, a rebel? 
WHY: Why do you think they produced this source? To inform, to persuade, to mislead? 

JS

Related History GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How would you answer the following exam question: Why were there disagreements at the Potsdam Conference in 1945? Explain your answer (6 marks- OCR, 2015)


How did the attitudes of the North and South differ in relation to the Civil War?


Outline the consequences of the building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961. (6 marks)


How do I obtain the most marks in questions which require me to make a comparison? I.e. "Which was the bigger threat to European peace in the 1930s: • the re-militarisation of the Rhineland 1936 • the Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939? [10 Marks]