Primary Source Analysis Worksheet - Documents

Use one of these documents for this exercise, or another of your choosing.

• Hooverville eviction protest
• Letter re: open housing legislation
• Petition after the Great Fire

Look at the document and answer the following questions:

1. What type of document is it? (for example, letter, report, newspaper article, memorandum, press release)

2. Does the document have any interesting physical features? (for example, handwritten notes, stamps, interesting letterhead)

3. What is the date on the document, if it has one?

4. Who wrote the document? Can you learn anything about this person from the document - for example, his or her job title or interests?

5. Who was the audience for this document?

6. Why do you think it was written?

7. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? (Quote from the document.)

8. List three things about the document's contents that you think are important.

9. List three things the document tells you about Seattle at the time it was written.

10. Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document.

Adapted from the National Archives