Reading Primary Sources for Historical Research

When taking a history course, writers are often asked to read primary sources to make observations about the past and its importance. You can engage in active reading by paying attention to the Genre, Author, Audience, and Purpose of a primary source. Remember the acronym GAAP!

Listed below are some guiding questions related to GAAP that can be used to better understand primary sources in history.

Genre

• What type of primary source is it (e.g., diary, monument, painting, speech, etc.)?
• What elements of the primary source matter most (e.g., words, colors, shapes, sounds, etc.)?
• How is the primary source similar or different from other sources of the same type?
• How does the type of primary source impact the author’s message?

Author

• Who created the primary source?
• When did the author/s create the primary source?
• Where did the author/s create the primary source?
• In what context was the primary source created (e.g., social, cultural, political, economic)?

Audience

• Who was/were the intended audience/s of the primary source (e.g., politicians, citizens, clergy, etc.)?
• How did the audience feel about the author?
• How did the audience react to the primary source (e.g., agree, disagree, indifference, etc.)?
• Why did the audience react that way?

Purpose

• For what purpose/s did the author write the primary source (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to entertain, etc.)?
• Was the author’s purpose/s effectively accomplished? Why or why not?
• How did the author use ethos, logos, and/or pathos?
• How is the primary source remembered or described now?

Work Consulted

Adler-Kassner, Linda, John Majewski, and Damian Koshnick. 2012. “The Value of Troublesome Knowledge:

Transfer and Threshold Concepts in Writing and History.” In “Writing and Transfer,” edited by Christian Weisser, Michelle Ballif, and Elizabeth Wardle. Special Issue, Composition Forum 26, (Fall). http://compositionforum.com/issue/26/troublesome-knowledge-threshold.php.