Working with primary sources
A primary source was made by someone who lived through the time you are studying: a letter, a diary, a law, a recipe, a poster. This page shows how to read one, question it and cite it, using the sources in Hearth Library.
Read it in four steps
Take one short source, such as How to run a farm, by Cato. Work through these steps in order. The source worksheet prints questions like these, with room to write.
- Source it. Before you read, find out who made it, when, where, for whom and why. On a library page, the byline, the date and the History tab tell you. Ask what the writer could know, and what they might want the reader to believe.
- Put it in context. What else was happening then? The History tab and the notes in the margin explain words and ideas of the time. Judge the writer by what people knew at the time.
- Read closely. What does the source say, and what does it leave out? Pick out one sentence that matters most and say why. Notice words that show the writer's feelings or aims.
- Check it against others. Does another source agree? Read a second source from the same time, or one from the other side. The other sources in the same collection are a good place to start.
Reading a translation
Most library sources were written in another language, or in English that is hard to read today. We print the original beside a plain English version.
- Check key words. Turn on Close English to see a word-for-word version, and compare the sentence you plan to quote.
- Look at the original. The Facsimiles tab shows page images of the printed book or the manuscript. Check a date, a name or a number there.
- Know what you are reading. Our translations were drafted by Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic. A page marked Draft has not yet had a separate check. For an important quotation, use a checked source, or check it against another translation.
Citing a source from Hearth Library
Name the writer and the original work, say that you read it in our translation, and give the page address. Here is the same source in two common styles.
- MLA
- Cato, Marcus Porcius. “How to Run a Farm.” De agri cultura, translated by Hearth Library, Hearth Library, Hearth Interactive, hearthinteractive.com/library/sources/ev-cato-farm. Accessed [date].
- Chicago
- Cato, Marcus Porcius. “How to Run a Farm.” In De agri cultura. Translated by Hearth Library. Hearth Library, Hearth Interactive. Accessed [date]. https://hearthinteractive.com/library/sources/ev-cato-farm.
To quote a single section, add its number, which is shown beside each passage. National History Day asks for a bibliography in two parts, primary and secondary. List the source under primary sources, and say in your note on it that you read it in translation in Hearth Library. The notes and the History tab are our explanation. If you use them, list them as a secondary source.
For National History Day 2027
The 2027 theme is “Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change.” Our collection Innovation in History gathers sources for it, grouped into threads such as smallpox inoculation, space travel and the new restaurants of Paris. As you read, ask three questions.
- Impact. What difference did the new idea make, and to whom? Who gained and who lost?
- Influence. Who took the idea up, who spread it, and who fought it? What reasons did each side give?
- Change. What was different before and after? What stayed the same?
A strong project uses sources from more than one side. In the inoculation thread, read the people who tried it and the preacher who argued against it, and ask whose knowledge was trusted.
For teachers
Most collections have classroom units with discussion questions and an activity. Each unit downloads for your learning system. How to teach with a source page explains the tabs on a source page.