writing in the disciplines

writing in history

reading a secondary source

what is the purpose?

Every writer, historian, or artist has a particular purpose in mind when he/she is creating an essay, a book, or a painting. Some questions to consider when determining purpose include—

• What genre does this source fit into—that is, is it a newspaper article? A scholarly book? A biography? How might the genre affect the content?
• Who is the document written for? Who else might have been reading it?
• Does the author explain why he/she is writing or speaking? What is the explanation?
• If the author does not explain his/her intentions, then what do you think they are?
• Is the writer responding to a particular person or event?

what is the interpretation?

• What is the author's thesis? That is, what is the author's main point or claim?

how is the interpretation constructed?

• What kinds of evidence are used? Examine the bibliography and footnotes. If there are none, you may need to widen your definition of “evidence” to include personal memories, oral accounts, or other informal sources; or you may want to question whether the source is reliable.
• How does the type of evidence influence the overall argument?

now what?

Establishing the purpose, thesis, and construction of a secondary source helps writers determine its usefulness. In general, a secondary source might be used as a collection of facts, as background material to contextualize an argument, and/or as evidence or counterargument in a larger argument.

For more on using secondary sources in a larger argument, see creating an argument using appropriate evidence.