1. Look at the physical nature of your source. This is especially important and
powerful when dealing with a source such as an actual old letter instead of a
transcribed and published version of the same letter. What are you able to learn
from the source form? Was it written in elegant handwriting on fancy paper or
scrap-paper in pencil?
2. What’s that saying to you? Think of the source’s purpose. What was the message
or argument from the author? What did he/she tries to do? Is the message explicit,
or are the messages implicit?
3. How is the author trying to convey the message? Which methods is he/she doing?
4. What are you familiar with the author? Religion, age, region, political beliefs, race,
sex, class, occupation? Is there any of these? How do I do it?
5. Who was the intended audience? Was this source intended for the eyes of one
person or the audience? How does the source affect that?
6. What can you be told by a careful reding of the text or even by an object? How
is language working? What are the symbols or metaphors that are important?
What can the selection of words of the authors tells you?