How do I answer a source question?

Questions that contain sources are usually looking for you to pick out as much information as you can that gives you an idea as to what is going on. They can come in the forms of photographs, paintings, newpapers, posters, journal entries, propaganda cartoons etc etc.

If you were, for example to get a photograph and the questions asked something like, using the source, describe what life was like for homesteaders on the great plains. So you would therefore look at firstly what is the photo of? Are there any people? What are they wearing/ holding/ standing by/ eating/ doing? What are the surroundings like? Are there trees? Is it bleak or empty, or is it busy and crowded? Is the photograph black and white or colour?

With a newspaper article you need to look at the date, the headline, what the main jist of the story is, what else is on the newspaper, is there a photograph? Are there any adverts? What message is it trying to convey?

A few points selecting and descrining things you can see in the source itself will enable you to fly through these questions.