Textual Documents

Comparing textual documents as primary or secondary can be confusing for the beginner.  Remember that primary textual documents were written in the time period being studied. As an example, a book about the history of farming in the 1930s is a secondary source because the author analyzed multiple primary sources and drew an interpretation from those documents. 

A primary source would be a book written in the 1930s educating the farmer about current farming practices, or a farmer’s diary entry in the 1930s about his failing crops. 

Textual documents can be handwritten or typed.

Questions for analysis:

1. When and under what circumstances was the document written?
2. Who is the author? What do we know about him or her?
3. Who is their audience?
4. What is their purpose in writing?
5. What is surprising in the document? What is missing in the document? 

The analysis questions were adopted from the Library of Congress. More information about lesson plans can be drawn from the website: 

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/resources/Analyzing_Primary_Sources.pdf