Social Studies
Focus your review
Social Studies spans history, geography, civics and government, and economics, plus disciplinary skills. In history, distinguish primary from secondary sources, build chronology, trace cause and effect, examine continuity and change, and consider multiple perspectives. Geography covers maps and globes, latitude and longitude, scale, regions, and human–environment interaction. Civics covers the three branches, separation of powers and checks and balances, federalism, rights and responsibilities, and local and state government. Economics covers scarcity, opportunity cost, supply and demand, producers and consumers, and incentives. For document-based items, identify the source's purpose, audience, and point of view before judging its reliability.
Traps
Latitude and longitude are frequently reversed: latitude lines run east–west but measure distance north–south. Items mislabel a textbook as a primary source, apply present-day values to the past (presentism), confuse wants with needs, or treat scarcity (always present) as a shortage (temporary).
Worked example
A diary written by a soldier in 1863 is a primary source; a documentary made in 2020 about that diary is secondary. Rule of thumb: primary equals created by a participant or witness at the time; secondary equals interpretation or analysis produced afterward.