Note Taking – Primary Sources (Template)
MSU History Help Desk
Note Taking Tools (Primary Sources)
◊ Things To Think About
-
Date:
Interpretation (What does it say?)
Analysis (What does it mean?)
Point-of-View (Why does the author say what she/he says?)
Source Information:
Key Questions
Author
Who wrote it?
Primary things to
consider:
- Gender
- Race
- Age
- Nationality
- Religion
- Class
- Etc.
Also consider:
- Who was this
person when the
events he/she
describes took
place?
- Who is this
person now?
- How did these
events affect this
person?
Place & Time
(Context)
When & where was it
written?
When & where was it
published (or was it
published)?
If not published, why
wasn’t it published and
how was it disseminated?
What was the historical
context of this document
(for author and for
readers) and how does
that shape its messages?
The Main Idea
Audience
What does the document
say explicitly?
For whom was it created?
What are some of its
implicit messages?
Was the document
translated and how might
this have impacted its
message?
How might someone
today interpret this
document differently
than someone at the time
in which it was created?
Was there an intended
audience and, if so, who
was the audience?
Where and how did the
audience read or view the
document?
How (if we can know
this) did the audience
receive this document?
Purpose
What was the
author’s/creator’s
intention?
Significance
Why does it matter?
What does this document
tell us about:
Do we know whether this
- the author?
intention was realized
- the subject
and, if so, what was the
matter that the
impact?
author describes?
- the time period
How many more of these
in which the
documents are there?
document was
created?
Are there more than one
versions of this
What does this document
document? Why might
tell us about today’s
there be multiple
world?
versions?
What does this document
Are there other
tell us about our society
documents like this?
and ourselves?
◊ Other Important Things to Consider
-
How does this document connect to other documents that have been considered in this class?
What questions do you have about the document or the content in the document?
What direct quotes can be pulled from the document that give us insight into the overall purpose and meaning of the document?
Note Taking – Primary Sources (Template)
MSU History Help Desk
Note Taking Tools (Primary Sources)