A source ledger is a table where each entry records what a source said, where you found it, and what you think of it. It appears whenever you collect evidence for a report, and it supports the honest credit your work needs.
The ledger keeps three things apart: what the source states, the source’s own viewpoint, and your interpretation.
What goes in a ledger entry?
Use one row per point, not one row per source.
- ID: a short label such as S1-a.
- Source details: author or organisation, title, date published, date accessed, and where it can be found.
- Location: page number, section, paragraph or timestamp.
- Type: Q for exact quotation, P for paraphrase.
- The point: the quoted words, or your restatement.
- Viewpoint note: whose position the source represents and what it might want.
- My use: which section of your plan this serves.
Worked example
Everything below is invented. The learner’s question is about a fictional bicycle-lane trial in the town of Pekan Lembah.
| ID | Source | Location | Type | The point | Viewpoint note | My use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1-a | Pekan Lembah Council news release, 3 March, accessed 10 April | para 2 | Q | “Cycling trips on the trial road rose from 120 to 190 a day.” | Council promotes its own trial | Section 2, evidence of change |
| S1-b | same | para 4 | P | The council counted trips only in daylight hours | Fact about method, not opinion | Section 3, limits |
| S2-a | Lembah Shopkeepers’ Association letter, 20 March, accessed 10 April | p. 1 | P | Members report fewer customers parking nearby | Business group with an interest in parking | Section 3, challenge |
The fact, the viewpoint, the interpretation. The figure 120 to 190 is a reported fact from a source with an interest. The shopkeepers’ report is a viewpoint. The learner’s interpretation, that the evidence is limited by daylight-only counts, belongs in the “My use” column, marked as the learner’s own.
Every entry can be found again in under a minute.
What mistake goes wrong most often?
The learner writes a note in half their own words and half the source’s, and records neither.
Mistaken entry: S1: council says cycling rose a lot and the trial is a success
Is “a lot” the source’s phrase? Is “success” the council’s claim or the learner’s? There is no location, no figure, no date.
The correction is to split the entry. Quote the exact figure with its location, then add a separate paraphrase for the council’s claim of success, and label the second as the council’s viewpoint.
Check yourself
1. A ledger row says: “S3: pollution is a big problem.” What three details would make it traceable?
Show answer
The source details with date accessed, the location in the source, and whether the wording is a quotation or a paraphrase. A figure or exact claim should replace “big problem”.
2. Why should a viewpoint note appear even for a source that seems reasonable?
Show answer
Every source speaks from a position. Recording it lets you separate what is reported from what the source wants you to believe, and it helps you weigh sources fairly later.
3. Is a restated sentence still a paraphrase if you forgot to record the source?
Show answer
It is still the source’s idea, so it must be credited. Without the record, you cannot credit it. That is the reason the ledger comes before drafting.
Where this leads next
With a traceable ledger, test your outline using the section contribution check. You can revisit creating the outline at any time, and the practice set mixes both skills.
Our teachers can look at the structure of your ledger and ask where a claim came from, a natural part of online one-to-one Global Perspectives tuition.