Written sources

If you asked people to give you example of a historical record or primary source, most would people would probably mention some kind of written source. They might say official reports, files, court documents, financial papers, newspapers, old family papers or official files. All these written sources can be used by historians to find out about the past. They might not have been created for that purpose but they are still very useful.

We’re going to take a look at some examples – an official document, entries from a diary, an inventory, extracts from a newspaper and a map – to see how written sources can be used. When you look at the sources think about why they were made or created and how this differs from how we use them today.