HIS109Y1 Study Guide - Final Guide: Merriam-Webster
L. Freedman/ ELL Program/ University of Toronto
Reading Primary Historical Documents
1. As a first step, skim the document. Read the beginnings and endings of the paragraphs,
and try to get an overall sense of the ideas. Then read the entire text carefully.
2. Read slowly, and stop after each sentence, paragraph, or group of paragraphs. Try to
paraphrase or summarize for yourself what the author is saying. During these pauses in
reading, write notes for yourself.
3. Note words or phrases which are different from contemporary English. If you need to
understand these in order to read the document, look them up (Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary is a good choice). You may not be able to look up every unfamiliar
word, so use your intuition to identify the important ones.
4. Pay attention to introductions or notes that go along with the primary document. Some
oddities of language may be due to translation, editing, or later additions to the
document. You may not be able to figure out certain word usages, so just move on and
save your questions for your instructor.
5. Try to follow context clues to understand new words and phrases. Some vocabulary
may be defined, or partially defined, within the document. If there are terms from
other languages, check whether they are mentioned in the glossary or index of your
textbook, or in your lecture notes.
6. As you are reading, keep in mind whatever you know about the author and the historical
context. What might have been this author’s purpose or agenda? What events does
the document refer to? And what events might the author have had in mind, even if
they’re not directly mentioned?
7. Who was the intended audience for this document? How does knowing the audience
affect the way we view this text, or the information we can take from it? Why/how did
this document survive?
8. Consider the document’s implications. What is not stated directly but can be logically
understood by following clues in the text?
9. What can you infer (logically deduce) about the values, belief systems, and social
relations of the society that produced this text? Check that your ideas can be supported
with specific quotations.
Document Summary
Reading primary historical documents: as a first step, skim the document. Read the beginnings and endings of the paragraphs, and try to get an overall sense of the ideas. Then read the entire text carefully: read slowly, and stop after each sentence, paragraph, or group of paragraphs. Try to paraphrase or summarize for yourself what the author is saying. During these pauses in reading, write notes for yourself: note words or phrases which are different from contemporary english. If you need to understand these in order to read the document, look them up (merriam-webster. You may not be able to look up every unfamiliar word, so use your intuition to identify the important ones: pay attention to introductions or notes that go along with the primary document. Some oddities of language may be due to translation, editing, or later additions to the document.
