Analysing Sources in the Core O – ORIGIN C – CONTENT M – MOTIVE A –AUDIENCE P – PERSPECTIVE R – RELIABILITY U – USEFULNESS

Analysing Sources in the Analysing Sources in the CoreCore

• O – ORIGIN• C – CONTENT• M – MOTIVE• A –AUDIENCE

• P – PERSPECTIVE• R – RELIABILITY• U – USEFULNESS

ACRONYM PRIMARY QUESTIONS you should ask of the source

SECONDARY QUESTIONS you should ask of the source

Origin

• Who made the source?

• When was it made?

• Where was it made?

• Was the maker an observer or participant?

• What was his or her role?

• Is he or she an expert?

• Is bias likely?

• Is the bias deliberate or unintentional?

• Was it made during or after the event?

• How significant is the delay in time?




Content

• Primary or secondary? (Does this matter? Why?)

• Type of source?

• Intentional content?

• Is there unintentional or implied content?

• What is the point of view of the source’s creator?

• Is there obvious bias? Why?




Motive

• Why was the source made - what was its purpose?

• How does the medium or format of the source indicate purpose and/or bias?

• Was it to: persuade, inform, condemn, express emotions/feelings, educate, entertain, express an opinion?

• What language and/or images are used?

• Is it humourous, extravagant, emotive, logical, matter-of-fact, balanced, descriptive, etc?




Audience

• For whom was the source made?

• Was it a private document or was it meant for publication – how do you know?

• Was it meant for an individual, a small group of experts or a wide audience?




Perspective

• Using the information on who made the source and why…

• Consider the position of the creator and their perspective…

• Does it represent a particular country’s position? A group’s position? An individual’s position?

• How do we know? Consider language, bias, etc…




Reliability

• Is the source complete or incomplete?

• Do other (easily located or famous) sources corroborate or support it?

• For what purposes is the source reliable?

• For what purposes is the source unreliable?

• In what ways is the source limited? Does it lack detail, clarity or understanding?

• Does it portray a narrow or limited point of view?

• In what ways is it biased?

• Is it propaganda or can it be used in that way?

• Do any other sources contradict it?




Usefulness

• What does the source tell us?

• How can the source be used to explain some aspect of the past?

• REMEMBER: usefulness is different from reliability but is dependent on it.


Answering Part 2 of the Answering Part 2 of the CoreCore

• You don’t necessarily need an introduction.

PARAGRAPH 1

• Begin with a POINT (P) that links your first source to the topic or question.

• ELABORATE/EXPLAIN (E) and give EXAMPLES (E) that are evident in the first source and relevant to the topic or question.

• LINK (L) your elaboration/explanation to the topic or question.

PARAGRAPH 2

• Begin with a POINT (P) that links your own knowledge to the topic or question.

• ELABORATE/EXPLAIN (E) and give EXAMPLES (E) from your own knowledge that are relevant to the topic or question.


RELEVANT TO HSC

PRE-2010 ONLY!

RELEVANT TO HSC

PRE-2010 ONLY!


PARAGRAPH 3

• Begin with a POINT (P) that links your second source to the topic or question.

• ELABORATE/EXPLAIN (E) and give EXAMPLES (E) that are evident in the second source and relevant to the topic or question.


PARAGRAPH 4

• Begin with a POINT (P) that links your own knowledge to the topic or question.

• ELABORATE/EXPLAIN (E) and give EXAMPLES (E) from your own knowledge that are relevant to the topic or question.


• REMEMBER TO P – E – E – L P – E – E – L

RELEVANT TO HSC

PRE-2010 ONLY!

RELEVANT TO HSC

PRE-2010 ONLY!


PARAGRAPH 1 (first source)

• Short paragraph that states authorship, primary/secondary, date & place of composition, medium/type, purpose & intended audience. (OCMA)

• Should be several sentences (3?) long.

PARAGRAPH 2 (first source)

• Begin with general comments about the text, include some quotes, link it back to the key features of the topic. (OCMA)

• Comment about its perspective - including comments about its content, composer, purpose, quotes, etc. Link it back to the key features of the topic. (P)

• Discuss evidence of bias, using examples. Link it back to the key features of the topic. (R)

• Discuss what the source can and cannot be used for. (U)

PARAGRAPHS 3 & 4 (second source)

• As for the first source.

Answering Essay-type Answering Essay-type QuestionsQuestions

Introduction• Point of view.• Preview arguments.• Link to the question.

Body Paragraphs• Begin with topic sentence that introduces a POINT (P) for discussion.

• ELABORATE/EXPLAIN (E) your point with EXAMPLES/ EVIDENCE (E) to back you up.


• That is: P – E – E – L P – E – E – L • Use as many as time allows or you need.

Conclusion• Summarise arguments.• Link them as a group back to your point of view and the question.

Documents

Analysing Sources in the Core O – ORIGIN C – CONTENT M – MOTIVE A –AUDIENCE P – PERSPECTIVE R – RELIABILITY U – USEFULNESS