Which of these is a primary source?

• A letter written at the time
• A modern film about the event
• A rumour with no named author

Give two reasons two historians can read the same event differently.

• They always copy each other exactly
• They ask different questions and use different sources
• They never read any evidence at all

What does sourcing a document mean?

• Counting how many pages it has
• Asking who made it and why
• Memorising its date word for word

Old books blamed the plague on bad air; new ones use burial records and DNA. What changed the account?

• The plague itself changed its germs
• New evidence and new questions overturned it
• Historians simply got more stubborn

A book claims the Second World War could not have been avoided. How do you test it?

• State its claim in one sentence and weigh the evidence beneath
• Count the book's chapters and trust the total
• Check whether you like the author's photo

One writer stressing continuity and another stressing sudden change must mean one of them is lying.

A friend says historians disagreeing proves nobody knows anything. What is the flaw?

• Archives never open and questions never change
• Disagreement ends all further research
• Tested rivalry is how knowledge moves forward

You argue the war was avoidable, citing two missed negotiations. What earns your case trust?

• Shouting the claim more loudly than rivals
• Hiding every fact that favours the other side
• Admitting the strongest point against you and answering it