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Explore/History & archaeology/Archives and silences

Whose experience is missing from a record?

An archive’s contents reflect what was created, preserved and selected.

History & archaeologyTopic · Selected readingSome background helpful
Background and goal

Try the short introduction first, or bring equivalent reading experience. Obtain the specified text before beginning the longer reading.

Compare two sources about the same event and list whose experience each leaves out.

Useful preparation

Start here if the background is new. Equivalent experience is enough.

Your pathway

5 steps · 14 hours
  1. 01

    Locate the reading

    0.25h · week 1
    Reading notes and task
    First fifteen minutesCheck the edition or article version and locate the passages below. Write the question you want the reading to resolve.
    Your outputEdition and passage record
  2. 02

    Study the opening

    4h · week 1
    National Archives: document analysis

    US National Archives · reference

    Worksheet prompts about creator, audience and evidence; apply them to two documents

    Free full text

    Open the reading
    Reading notes and task

    National Archives: document analysis. An archive’s contents reflect what was created, preserved and selected.

    Try thisRead Worksheet prompts about creator, audience and evidence; apply them to two documents. Reconstruct the central argument using premises and a conclusion.
    Your outputArgument reconstruction
    Check your understanding

    Answer this question in your own words: Whose experience is missing from a record?

    Hint

    Name the claim, then explain why a reader might accept it.

    Compare with an example answer

    An archive’s contents reflect what was created, preserved and selected.

    What to look for

    • States a claim that addresses the question
    • Connects the claim to a passage or observation
    • Separates the author’s argument from personal agreement

    Common mistake: Summarising a biography instead of explaining the argument.

    Start this pathway to keep your answers in My learning.

  3. 03

    Read for contrast

    5h · week 2
    National Archives: document analysis

    US National Archives · reference

    Worksheet prompts about creator, audience and evidence; apply them to two documents

    Free full text

    Open the reading
    Reading notes and task

    National Archives: document analysis. An archive’s contents reflect what was created, preserved and selected.

    Try thisRead Worksheet prompts about creator, audience and evidence; apply them to two documents. Compare two passages that put pressure on your initial interpretation.
    Your outputTwo-passage comparison
  4. 04

    Develop an example

    3h · week 3
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisCompare two sources about the same event and list whose experience each leaves out.
    Your outputWorked example
    Check your understanding

    What would make your activity a convincing example?

    Hint

    Compare two sources about the same event and list whose experience each leaves out.

    Compare with an example answer

    A useful response carries out the task: Compare two sources about the same event and list whose experience each leaves out. It records the observation or passage used and explains how it bears on the question.

    What to look for

    • Completes the specific task
    • Shows evidence or reasoning rather than only a conclusion
    • Identifies an alternative explanation or reading

    Common mistake: Presenting an opinion without showing the example it rests on.

    Start this pathway to keep your answers in My learning.

  5. 05

    Write a considered response

    1.75h · week 4
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisWrite a response to “Whose experience is missing from a record?” that uses both passages and tests its own conclusion. Absence from an archive does not prove absence from an event.
    Your outputReasoned response with references
    Check your understanding

    What is one conclusion this reading does not establish?

    Hint

    Test the boundary: Absence from an archive does not prove absence from an event.

    Compare with an example answer

    Absence from an archive does not prove absence from an event.

    What to look for

    • States a specific limit
    • Explains why the reading does not warrant the stronger conclusion
    • Distinguishes a limitation from dismissing the work

    Common mistake: Treating a useful interpretation as an unrestricted fact.

    Start this pathway to keep your answers in My learning.

All 1 resources

Background, different viewpoints, and further reading.

  • National Archives: document analysis

    US National Archivesreferencecore

    An archive’s contents reflect what was created, preserved and selected.

    Worksheet prompts about creator, audience and evidence; apply them to two documents