Questions for critical source analysis (not all questions may be relevant for your
purpose)
Place the source in its context
› Who wrote it?
› What do you know about the author?
› Where and when was it written?
› Why was it written?
› To what audience is it addressed?
› What do you know about this audience?
Classify the source
› What kind of work is it?
› What was its purpose?
› What are the important conventions and traditions governing this kind of source?
› Of what legal, political, religious or philosophical traditions is it a part?
Interpret the source
› What are the key words in the source and what do they mean?
› What point is the author trying to make? Summarise the thesis.
› What evidence does the author give to support the thesis?
› What assumptions underlay the argument?
› What values does the source reflect?
› What problems does it address?
› Can you relate these problems to the historical situation?
› What action does the author expect as a result of this work?
› Who is to take this action?
› How does the source motivate that action?
Evaluation of the source
› How typical is this source for this period?
› How widely was this source circulated?
