Fiducia TogetherSource analysis
Working out what a historical source tells you, and how far you can trust it.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Source analysis means using a source as evidence: reading its content, considering who made it, when, why and for whom, and judging what it can and cannot support.
Where it applies
GCSE and A Level history, and it appears in RE and citizenship.
How it works
Every source is evidence of something, even a biased one — a piece of propaganda is unreliable about events and excellent evidence of what a government wanted people to believe.
Provenance is who, what, when, where and why: the caption is not decoration, it is half the marks.
How to use it in your work
Read the attribution BEFORE the source. Students who read the source first often never use the provenance at all.
Never say a source is unreliable because it is biased and stop there. Say what it is unreliable ABOUT and what it is still good evidence FOR.
Use your own knowledge to test it. "This is supported by..." or "this omits..." is what turns comprehension into analysis.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification — options differ enormously between centres, and yours is the one that counts. Bitesize covers the skills; the subject song runs the topics.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The History Song The GCSE history topics, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.