Analysis of a historical text

A) Read and summarize:

Reading:
We read the text carefully.
We underline all terms, names, dates which can be relevant for the analysis.
We also underline, in a different colour, all words or expressions that we dont understand.
We ask to the teacher the words or expressions that we dont understand.
Summarizing:
Now, we identify the main ideas. If a text is composed by some articles or some paragraphs
have similar ideas (for example a law, or a constitution) we can group these articles or
paragraphs to make easier the analysis.
We identify the secondary ideas.

B) Type of text:
Nature of text:
Legal text: Law, treaty, constitution. It is compulsory to obey it.
Political text: Manifest, partys political program, speeches. They only propose things or
measures. It is not compulsory to obey it.
Economic text: Any text with information about economy (for example, a book about the Wall
Street Crash), public reports, articles
Personal text: Memories of a public or a particular person (a king, a politician, a single citizen),
letters, a personal diary.
Social text: Reports about society, articles
Literary texts: They are commonly novels which reflect a historical period (Oliver Twist, All quiet
on the western front)
Journalistic text: All texts appeared in a newspaper. Their content can vary according to the
topic they are talking about (economy, politics, culture)
Historiographical text: works of historians who judged after the facts, and the works of modern
historians.
According to their content:
Statistical, economic, political, social, cultural, newspaper archives, philosophical,
geographical, theological, religious
According to their origin:
Primary source: When they are written in the same time that events take place.
Secondary source: As the historiographical texts, drawn from works of more or less current press
texts historians and current and contemporary with the facts.

C) Author:
It can be individual, collective or even anonymous. We must indicate, if he is a politician, a thinker,
some details about his life and the importance he had in the events that he depicts. If he occupied
some public service position, then the author is public, but if he didnt, the author is private.

D) Date and historical context:

We must inquiry when it was written. In many texts, the date appears at the bottom of the text. In
others, we only can establish the period or historic context. If we can, we must refer the date and
the context.
 In historiographical texts, we have two dates: one in which writes historian or author and one on
which he writes, for example, the date on the text and the date on which the action of speaking is
placed is made.

E) Destination:
Adressee It can be adressed to an individual, or a community, or a restricted group. If it is for a
public person, it is public, if it is for a private person, then it is private.
Intention What is the importance of the purpose or intention pursued, distinguishing between the
"intended purpose" and the "end achieved", leading to value the consequences or repercussions,
as well as the historical significance of the document.
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F) Analysis of text:
There are two methods to analyse a text:
We can follow the text and explain all the words, dates or names which appear on it.
We group the paragraphs according to their topic and we explain them together. For
example if a couple of passages talk about economy, we explain them together.

G) Comment:
We take the text as a basis to explain the historical moment. So we must date back to the origin of
the historical phenomenon, indicating its causes, its development and its consequences.

H) Conclusion:
The student must make a final synthesis, with the main ideas of the text and its contribution for the
study of history and the past.
 Analysis of a historical map

A) Classification:
Delimit the geographical space it occupies.
Indicate the chronological scope (period) it covers.
Indicate the character of the map demographic, war, political, economic, electoral

B) Analysis:
Consits on explaining the information of the map (3-4 lines).

C) Commentary:
Historical content relate the facts, data and circumstances that appear on the map with the
specific historical movement.
Content developing the info provided by the map (causes-circumstances).

D) Conclusion:
A critical assesment can be made of the activity of the map as a source of information, the
correction of exposed data and possible omission.

Commentary on an image

A) Classification (4-5 lines):

Type of image:
It can be a photgraph, an engraving, a propaganda poster, a caricature always has to
be indicated;
If it is contemporary to the fact that it describes it is primary source, if it is later, it is secondary
source (maps always).
Function:
Informative (record or photograph of report), propagandistic (poster or comercial
advertising), educational (illustrations accompaining texts), satitical (cartoons),
entretainment (ornamental or decorative images), historical (represents an historical fact).

Author (if known). Date (if known). Historical context.

B) Description of the image being depicted (3-4 lines):

Characters that appear.
Themes that appear, wether it is political, reliogious, economic, social, or several at the same time.
Explain the motto (if it was).

C) Analysis of the historical process:

Comment the image, indicating the main aspects to the referred historical process.