Comparing sources means setting two sources side by side, finding where they match, differ or simply address different things, and explaining why. The common error is to assume that a difference means conflict. This lesson builds on purpose and audience and sits inside evidence and source interpretation.
How do I compare two sources step by step?
- Name the shared issue. What are both sources about?
- List each source’s claim on that issue, in your own words and attributed.
- Mark each pair of claims: agree, disagree, or not about the same thing.
- Explain differences using perspective, purpose, audience, time and what each author could know.
- Reach a short conclusion that says what the pair together can and cannot show.
A perspective is the position someone speaks from, such as their role, interests and experience. Two honest people in different positions can describe the same event differently.
Worked example
Both sources are invented for teaching. The question: What do these sources show about the new market hall at Tanjung Delima in 1925?
Source A (invented extract): Town Council minutes, July 1925. “The new market hall was completed in June at a cost of 3,000 dollars. Several traders have said that the stalls are too narrow.”
Source E (invented extract): Letter to a local newspaper from a fish trader, August 1925. “The hall is a fine building, but a trader cannot turn round at her stall. The council says it will review the layout. We have heard such promises before.”
Step 1, shared issue: the hall, and especially the stalls.
Step 2, claims.
- A: the hall was completed in June for 3,000 dollars; some traders said the stalls are narrow.
- E: the hall is a fine building; the writer says she cannot turn round at her stall; she doubts the council’s review will happen.
Step 3, marking.
- Narrow stalls: agree, in that both report the complaint (A reports it second-hand, E is a first-hand account).
- Cost: only A states it. Not comparable.
- Council’s reliability: A records an intention to review. E expresses doubt. These differ in tone, but A states a plan and E states a prediction. They are not direct opposites.
Step 4, explaining. A is an official record by the body that built the hall. E is a public letter by someone who uses the hall daily and wants the council to act. Their roles explain why E is warmer on the experience and more critical of the council.
Step 5, conclusion. Together the sources show that complaints about the stalls were recorded by both the council and a trader in 1925, and that the council had stated an intention to review. They cannot show whether the review took place or how widely the complaints were shared.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken answer: “Source A says the hall is a success and Source E says it is a failure, so they disagree.”
Neither source says either. A gives dates, a cost and a reported complaint. E calls the building fine but the stalls too small.
The student has invented a conflict by giving each source a verdict it never offered.
Correction: “Both sources report that stalls were too narrow. They differ in focus: A records cost and the council’s plan, while E describes personal experience and doubts the plan.”
Check yourself
Use Sources A and E above, and this extra invented extract. Source F (invented): Council notice, September 1925. “The layout review is to begin in October.”
1. Does Source F agree or disagree with E’s doubt about a review?
Show answer
F states the review is to begin, which cuts against E’s prediction that nothing would happen. But a notice of intent does not show the review took place, so it does not settle the matter. Partly disagree, with limits.
2. Give one reason, based on perspective, why A and E use a different tone.
Show answer
A is an official record written by the council that built the hall. E is a public letter from a trader who uses a stall every day and wants action. Their roles give them different priorities.
3. Write one sentence stating what A and E together cannot show.
Show answer
They cannot show how widespread the complaint was across all traders, or whether the layout was later changed.
Where this leads next
Comparison leads naturally to limits, which is the focus of what a source cannot establish. The integrated practice set includes a comparison question.
If your comparison answers read as two summaries side by side, our teachers can help you practise the linking step in online one-to-one History tuition.