1. OPTIC – primary source visual analysis tool
Overview
What is happening in the picture? Summarize the “action” of the visual without analyzing its meaning yet. P
Parts
Break the picture down into sections. Describe the placement of objects on the canvas. Name everything that you see. Describe color, lighting, and movement in the picture. T
Title/Theme/Tone
What does the title tell you about the picture? How much does it add to what you understand or do not understand about the picture? Explain your answers. What themes does the picture reflect and in what ways? What is the author’s attitude toward the subject? Use your tone worksheet! I
Interrelation
Analyze the relationships in the picture. How do objects or people or colors relate to each other in the picture? What clues to the message or argument are these relationships giving you? What seems to be the most important “relationship” in the picture? C
Conclusion
Draw a conclusion to the meaning or message of the picture based on what you have viewed and discussed as a group. Essentially, what is the argument the artist is trying to convey?

2. APPARTS – source analysis tool
Author
Who created the source? What do you know about the author(s)? What is the author’s point of view and/or perspective on the issue?
Place and Time
Where and when was the source produced? How might this affect the meaning of the source?
Prior Knowledge
Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do you know that would help you further understand the primary source? For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represent?
Audience
For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the source?
Reason
Why was the source produced at the time it was produced? What purpose was it supposed to serve?
The Main Idea
What point is the source trying to convey? What is the overall message?
Significance
Why is the document important? What inferences (conclusion based on evidence) can you draw from this document? Ask yourself, “so what?” in relation to the question asked.

3. SOAPSTone – source analysis tool
Subject
What is the content and subject of the document? How do you know?
Occasion
What local, regional, and/or global events prompted the author to create this piece? What events led to its creation?
AUDIENCE
Purpose
Who was the likely audience for this piece? Who was it created for? What assumptions can you make about the audience? How does the author use language to reach their audience?
Is the purpose to explain, inform, entertain, persuade, or share feelings? How is the speaker trying to spark a reaction from the audience? How is the document communicated?
Tone
Speaker
What words describe the attitude of the speaker? What is the author’s mood and how its it conveyed? For what purpose? How is this mood supposed to make the reader feel?
Who is telling the story? What inferences can you make about this person?

4. 3, 2, 1…Asking Questions and Making Inferences (source analysis tool)
Title of Document:___________________________________
What information in the document catches your attention? List all that you can…
What question of curiosity are sparked by the document? List all that you can…
What inferences or conclusions can be drawn from the document? List the main ones that come to mind…
What evidence do you find in the document to support your inferences or conclusions? Be specific…

5. Primary Source Analysis Tool
Title of Document:_________________________________
Content
What point is the document trying to make?
Authorship
Who created the document?
Purpose
Why was the document created?
Format
What medium is the document (letter, newspaper article, cartoon, editorial, etc.)? Why do you think the author chose this format to convey his/her message?
Audience
Who was the document created for?
Does the audience affect the reliability of the document?
Context
When and where was the document produced?
What else was going on locally, regionally, and globally?
Author’s Point of View
What might the author have been affected by or reacting to a t the time the document was created?
Limitations
What does the document not say?
What might the author not have known?
In what ways was the author biased?

6. PHIA DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
PURPOSE, HISTOCIAL CONTEXT, INTENDED AUDIENCE, AUTHOR’S POINT OF VIEW
DOCUMENT NAME/TITLE 
PURPOSE
What is the author trying to achieve?
What was the outcome associated with this document?
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
What kinds of outside information can you provide to promote understanding of this document?
What does the document reveal about the history involved here?
INTENDED AUDIENCE
To whom is this document addressed?
Does the audience influence what the author has to say? How? 
AUTHOR’S POINT OF VIEW
What do you know about the author?
What kind of bias do you expect he/she to have? What kind of bias is actually present?

7. document analysis tool
Historical Context
What are the immediate historical events that shaped/triggered this document? What is the environment of ideas, attitudes, + emotions behind the creation of the document?
Audience
For whom (specifically, generally, logically) was the document intended? What details in the document help you attribute the audience?
Purpose
Who (specifically, generally, logically) wrote/produced the doc? Is there a reference to the author’s POV (i.e. his/her professional, racial, gender, social background) in the document biline? If not, can you infer it? What details in the document reflect the author’s POV?
Point of View
Why was the document created? What elements in the document help you to determine its purpose? How does the author’s point of view shape the document’s purpose AND/OR How does the format of the document shape its purpose? (e.g. Is a visual/photo more emotional than an essay?)
MS HAP-P:
document analysis tool
Main Idea
What is the point? What is the overall argument being made? How do you know?
Significance (after HAPP)
How does the document impact/shape/reflect popular arguments on the subject? How does the document reflect ‘continuity or change over time’ (C-COT)? What are the limitations of the document? (Is the document credible?)

8. Contradiction, Corroboration, and Qualification
The following will help you to answer the questions
Do the documents reveal any contradictions in the historical argument you are making?
Do the documents support or corroborate the historical argument you are making?
Are the document reliable in supporting or qualifying your historical argument?
Which documents had similar points of view? How so?
Which documents had different points of view? How so?
Which kinds of arguments do the documents support and in what way?
Which documents seem to support each other? How so?
Which documents seem to contradict each other? How so?
Which are the most reliable sources? Why?
Which documents have the greatest limitations? How so?