Examine sources of an historical event that is of significance to New Zealanders
Domain 3 (AS 91231) is the external source-examination standard. You are given sources and asked to examine their origin, purpose, context, content, reliability and usefulness, and to use them as evidence for an historical event significant to New Zealanders.
Core moves
- Identify origin (who made it, when, where) and purpose (persuade, inform, record, justify).
- Read content closely and select relevant evidence.
- Judge reliability by checking knowledge, access, audience and motive.
- Judge usefulness for the specific question, not in general.
- Corroborate: compare sources and explain agreement or disagreement.
- Bias does not automatically make a source useless; it can reveal attitudes.
Worked example: 1981 Springbok Tour
Question: 'How useful are these sources for understanding divisions over the 1981 tour?' Source A is a rugby union editorial arguing the tour should proceed; Source B is a Halt All Racist Tours leaflet urging protest. The editorial's origin and purpose show it defends sport's autonomy and worries about politics in rugby; it is useful for pro-tour arguments but limited on protest motives. The HART leaflet is designed to mobilise; it is useful for activist framing and claims about apartheid sport, but its language is campaigning. Used together with police reports or photographs, they show polarisation; neither alone proves what 'most New Zealanders' thought.
Traps
- Calling a source biased and stopping there.
- Assuming official sources are neutral.
- Ignoring purpose or audience.
- Describing sources instead of answering the usefulness question.
- Failing to corroborate or to note silences.