A document may be of various types: a written document, a painting, a monument, a map, a photograph, a statistical table, a film or video, etc. Anything from the past that helps us learn what happened, and why, is a document. The technique of document analysis outlined here is generally applicable to all types of documents. However, it is especially appropriate for the written documents.
Analyzing historical documents requires students to identify the purpose, message and audience of a text. Document Analysis Forms are graphic organizers that guide students through a process of identifying important background information about a document (e.g. author/creator, date created, place, format, etc.) and using this data to determine the bias or perspective of a text.