Analyzing a source in IB History is quite the scary task. Bias,
primary, secondary… what? However, there is an acronym — OPVL —
that can be used to simplify source analysis. O – Origin. Where
did the source come from? Who did it come from? When did it come
from? P – Purpose. What are the ramifications of the origins? In
terms of the historical context of the source, what does it
mean? V – Value. With the origin and purpose in mind, what value
does this source have? (Bias does not make a source
worthless!!!) What does it show about the society? What does it
show about the type of thinking at that time? L – Limitations.
Despite the value, what pitfalls in the origin and purpose cause
this source to not be valuable? Is it damaged? Was it
mistranslated? Was it “corrupted” since it was altered for a
specific audience only? Just try to structure your source
analysis with these points in a logical sequence; each one
should build on top of previous points. - Bias does not make a
source worthless. - Try to give a bala