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Say what a source really shows and where a claim goes further than the source can carry, using two accounts of the same afternoon.
Paper packet. Every task here also exists on screen, where it is checked automatically; answers written on paper are not assessed by Nydus. When you are back at a device, enter your answers there.
By the end of this lesson you can say what a source is good evidence for and where a claim goes further than the source can carry. You will read two made-up notes about the same afternoon and see why two people who saw different things are not disagreeing with each other.
Neither of the notes below is real. We wrote them both. They are about the made-up village of Ashfield and a fair that never happened. They are here so that you can practise asking what a source is evidence for, without being told anything untrue about the real past.
The fair was quieter than last year. I sold eleven pots of honey before noon and none after, because it rained. I never got to see the puppet show.
Bel keeps the shop. She wrote this at the end of the day, in the book where she writes down what she has sold.
The best part of the fair was the puppet show. It was crowded all the way round the stage. I got soaked running home.
Tomás is nine. He wrote this in his own notebook that evening, because he wanted to remember the day.
The two notes do not disagree with each other. Bel never saw the puppet show, so she says nothing about it. Tomás was standing right in front of it, so he can tell you it was crowded — but he was not in the shop, so he cannot tell you how much honey was sold. Each note is strong evidence for what the person writing it was near, and weak evidence for everything else. And both of them noticed the rain.
You can point at what a source states, and you can ask who made it and why. Put those two together and you get the question this lesson is about: given who made it and what is on it, what can this source actually show?
Evidence is what a source lets you say. A source is evidence for the things it touches, and it is silent about everything else. When somebody says more than the source can carry, we say the claim goes too far — not that it is false, because it might be true, but that this source cannot show it.
Two people were at the same made-up fair. Bel was behind her counter all afternoon; Tomás was standing in front of the puppet stage. Their two notes do not disagree with each other — they simply looked at different things.
So Bel's note is strong evidence that honey was being sold, and no evidence at all about the puppet show, because she never saw it. Tomás's note is strong evidence that a crowd stood round the puppets, and no evidence about the shop, because he was not in it. Both of them noticed the rain, so the rain is the one thing two separate sources carry.
The habit to build is this. Before you say a source shows something, ask yourself which words in it you would point at. If you cannot find them, the claim goes further than the source, and you should say so.
Another way: picture
Draw a small circle round each source and write inside it only what that source can show. Bel's circle holds honey and rain. Tomás's circle holds puppets and rain. The rain sits where the two circles overlap, which is why we are most confident about it.
Another way: story
If a friend tells you the school gate was locked at four o'clock, you have good evidence about the gate at four o'clock. You do not have evidence about the gate at five, or about why it was locked, or about whether anyone minded.
Two sources that mention different things are not arguing with each other. Bel not mentioning the puppet show does not mean there was no puppet show. And a guess that goes too far is not a lie — it may well be right — but calling it evidence when it is a guess is where history goes wrong.
The note says eleven pots of honey were sold before noon and none after, because it rained.
Start with the words that are actually there.
So it is good evidence that honey was sold at the fair, and that it rained.
Both of those you can point at.
It is not evidence that the fair was a failure, or that people went home early. Bel did not write either of those.
A source is silent about what it does not mention.
The tablet is a list of sacks of grain going into a store.
So it is good evidence that somebody was counting grain, and that somebody there could write.
The tablet could not exist unless both were true.
It is not evidence that the people were rich, or hungry, or worried about the harvest. None of that was ever written on it.
The purpose of the tablet decides how far it reaches.
Here is a source, then five things somebody said after reading it. Mark the two that the source really shows — and leave the guesses alone.
This task has no paper form; do it on a device.
Here are the two made-up notes about the Ashfield fair again. Three questions about them, one after another: what a source says, who made it and why, and what it is evidence for.
This task has no paper form; do it on a device.
Match each source to the one thing it is good evidence for.
| that something was being sold at the fair | that there was a puppet show at the fair | that somebody in that place was keeping count | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bel's made-up note about selling honey | |||
| Tomás's made-up note about the puppet stage | |||
| A clay tablet listing sacks of grain |
A clay tablet with a list of sacks of grain pressed into it. Which question can this source help you answer?
This source has no words on it at all. Four things somebody said about it are below. Mark the one that goes further than the object can carry.
This task has no paper form; do it on a device.
Lesson test: one question per skill, one attempt each, no hints. Your answers are checked when you submit.
Here is a source, then five things somebody said after reading it. Mark the two that the source really shows — and leave the guesses alone.
This task has no paper form; do it on a device.
You can say what a source shows, and you can point out a claim that goes further than the source can carry. Next time somebody tells you a story about their day, ask yourself which part of it they actually saw.