How would you analyse and use a source?

Analysing a Source Walkthrough
Circles of Inference (Use whiteboard feature)
Questions to address immediately (particularly if there is limited context to the source)
·        What is the source depicting?·        What can be deduced from this?·        What are the limitations of the source?·        Any other questions; context – who ‘s published the source, when was it written? Own knowledge Etc
I would have examples of these (and a template) and walk it through with them. I would also have multiple sources depending on the ability of the student to give examples on how to glean information.
However if the question contains ample context and provenance(particularly in a compare and contrast question –
·        Establish the origin; author and date and where it was written. Why are these important and relate to the source?·        What is the purpose? ·        Who is it written for? ·        Values of the source? Eg. If it’s a speech written by a main character within the event; official documents might be more reliable than a letter or cartoon etc.·        What are the limitations of the source? Is the source compromised in any way? Does its purpose compromise its usefulness to a historian? A cartoon might be used to be invocative or satirical therefore it may not be the most useful etc. What other sources could be used to back up or undermine this source?