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Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

A primary source is an original document or object from a particular time period. Examples of primary sources are letters, memoirs or autobiographies, diaries, photographs, paintings, and music scores. 

letter and a pen       music score       water color painting of men in a boat on a river

Photos courtesy of Unsplash

Secondary Sources

A secondary source is a critique or interpretation of a primary source. Examples of secondary sources include reviews, commentaries, biographies, dissertations, and bibliographies.

a typed paper on a laptop screen       a hand holding a stack of books       

Photos courtesy of Unsplash


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