Tackling questions on sources has been an integral part of AS and A-level exams for some time. However, over the last few years there has been a change to source-based questions that have a clearer focus on evaluating the utility of sources. There has also been a move towards differentiating between tasks connected to the analysis of contemporary sources and interpretations. Note that the old distinction between primary and secondary sources is not used by awarding bodies as it is deemed rather false and inappropriate.
A contemporary source is one that originates from the period of time you are studying. That is why some historians still refer to it as a ‘first-hand account’ (or primary source). It will have been produced by people who were alive during the period under scrutiny and who may have acted as eyewitnesses to what was happening.
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