What is a good way to answer the "evaluate the usefulness" type of source question?

A good way to answer this type of question is to use the "COWPAT" Acronym! Here it is: C = Content, O = Omission, W = When, P = Purpose, A = Author, T = Type. This type of question is worth 6 marks, so if you have two Contents or two Omissions, you won't need to use the whole acronym. Look at when the article was written, was it done at the time, or with the benefit of hindsight? What is the purpose of the source. Is it to convince a group of people, or is it to simply describe an event? Who is the Author? A figure of importance, or just a common bystander? There are many types of sources, from photographs to diary entries. What can this tell us about the source? Remember, every time you make a point, refer back to the question: decide if it makes the source useful or not!