How do I address sources?

Sources are often things that students find hard, however there is a trick to it. There are certain questions you have to ask yourself about the source. These are: Content, context, provenance, purpose, tone. This helps break down what to write with the sources so that you have a beginning point to grapple with. You would need to see if you can identify if it is a government document, or a newspaper and if so what can you deduce from where the source came from. You also need to see the date that it has been produced, so if it is about the cold war then address what is the situation surrounding the date and what happened at this point. This is all what you can get from the first few lines of the description of the source. It makes your job a lot easier and it is there for a reason, if you know the facts surrounding the source there is no reason as to why you should not be able to get a lot of marks for the sources.

GD
Answered by Gabriella D. History tutor

3025 Views

See similar History GCSE tutors

Related History GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How was Hitler able become Fuhrer of Germany by August 1934? (10 Marks)


How do I answer an essay question in an exam?


How should I structure a long answer question in my exam?


What factor was more important to the failure of the League of Nations: the economic depression of the 1930s or the Abyssinia Crisis?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning