Weighing a Source's Reliability · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

How much weight can a source carry

History · Historical Thinking · ages 14-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A diary describes a battle the writer fought in, then guesses at the king's secret plans. How should you split it?

    • Trust every sentence equally
    • Strong for what the writer saw, weak for the guessing
    • Weak for everything, since diaries always lie

  2. Which three facts should you fix first when weighing a source?

    • Who made it, when, and for which audience
    • How long it is, what colour it is, where it is stored
    • How famous it is, how old the paper feels, who owns it now

  3. A one sided source is useless and should always be thrown away.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Which sentence shows good sourcing inside an answer?

    • This poster is biased and therefore useless
    • This poster is old so everything in it is true
    • This poster shows what its makers wanted workers to believe in wartime

  5. Two newspapers frame the same strike in opposite ways. What is your best next move?

    • Pick the one with the bigger headline and trust it
    • Compare their framing, list what each leaves out, and weight each claim
    • Average the two headlines into one sentence

  6. An open minded answer names what evidence would change its judgement.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Sam writes: this source is reliable, so all its claims are true. What is wrong?

    • Nothing, since reliable sources never err
    • Reliability is about one claim at a time, so each claim needs its own weighing
    • Sources should never be trusted about anything

  8. A general's memoir praises his own plan and blames his allies. A clerk's supply list shows half the shells never arrived. What is the careful conclusion?

    • The memoir is strong on the plan failing from missing shells, weak on whose fault it was
    • The memoir is perfect on everything because the general was there
    • The supply list is useless because clerks never understand battles
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

How much weight can a source carry W1-mt_24TQ9c30NI-s1

  1. Strong for what the writer saw, weak for the guessing · Strong for one claim can be weak for another, so judge claim by claim.
  2. Who made it, when, and for which audience · Maker, moment and audience tilt every message a source sends.
  3. False · It still proves what its author wanted believed.
  4. This poster shows what its makers wanted workers to believe in wartime · Good sourcing says what the document weighs for, not just a label.
  5. Compare their framing, list what each leaves out, and weight each claim · Spotting bias means weighting each claim to fit what the source can show.
  6. True · Naming your test shows readers how your call could be beaten.
  7. Reliability is about one claim at a time, so each claim needs its own weighing · No document earns a blanket pass; every claim carries its own weight.
  8. The memoir is strong on the plan failing from missing shells, weak on whose fault it was · Use each source where it is strong and distrust it where it is weak.
Worksheet · LightMySky