Every source answers a small part of a large question.
To explain what a source cannot establish is to say precisely which claims it does not support, even if the source is truthful. This is often what lifts a source answer from description to evaluation. It completes the sequence in evidence and source interpretation.
What are the usual limits?
Check a source against these gaps.
- Scale: it covers one person, one place or one day, not a whole group or period.
- Scope: it addresses one aspect (cost, feeling, layout) and is silent on others.
- Cause: it records that something happened, not why.
- Outcome: it shows an intention or a beginning, not a result.
- Viewpoint: it shows one side, with the other side absent.
- Hindsight: it was written before later events and cannot comment on them.
Worked example
Source G (invented extract, for teaching): From the diary of a schoolgirl in Tanjung Delima, Saturday, October 1925. “We went to the new market hall with Mother. It was very busy and I could hardly walk between the stalls.”
The claim a student might want to make: “The market hall was a great success.”
Step 1, what the source does establish.
- On this Saturday in October 1925, the writer visited the hall with her mother.
- She describes it as very busy and crowded between stalls.
Step 2, test the claim against each gap.
- Scale: one visitor, one visit. It cannot show how busy the hall was on other days.
- Scope: it describes crowding, not whether traders made money or customers were satisfied.
- Cause: it does not say why the hall was busy. It could be curiosity about a new building.
- Outcome: it cannot show whether the hall stayed popular.
- Viewpoint: a child’s view, with no trader’s or council’s account.
Step 3, write the limit. “Source G shows the hall was crowded on one Saturday in October 1925 according to one visitor. It cannot establish that the hall was a success overall, because it says nothing about traders’ income, other days or why people came.”
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken answer: “Source G proves that everyone in the town used the market hall.”
Two things have gone wrong. “Proves” is too strong for a single diary entry. “Everyone” jumps from one writer’s day to a whole town.
Correction: “Source G suggests the hall was busy at least on this Saturday. It cannot show that everyone used it.” Use words such as “suggests” and “at least” when the source is small.
Check yourself
1. Source B, an invented harbour log, says: “Forty-two boats used the new jetty in its first week.” Name one thing it cannot establish.
Show answer
It cannot establish that the jetty stayed in use afterwards, because it covers only the first week. It also cannot show why boats used it, or whether landings really became quicker.
2. Source A (council minutes) records that traders complained of narrow stalls. Can it establish that the stalls were narrow? Explain.
Show answer
Not by itself. It establishes that complaints were made and recorded. Whether the stalls were narrow would need measurements or other evidence.
3. Change “This source is limited” into a precise sentence about Source G.
Show answer
“Source G is limited to one child’s visit on a single Saturday, so it cannot show how the hall was used on other days or by other people.”
Where this leads next
You have now covered claims, purpose, comparison and limits. Join them up in the integrated practice set. For the bigger picture of how you build a supported explanation from several sources, see causation and supported explanation.
If your evaluation points are sound but stay general, our teachers can practise precise limits with you in online one-to-one History tuition.