Typical Questions
- "If both these dates are correct, that would imply that ______"
- "Therefore, the discovery was likely ______"
How to Approach
- Infer beliefs, values, or motivations rooted in a particular time/place
- Be inside the mindset of the source, not your own
- Highlight any phrase that sounds “old-fashioned” or culture-specific. Ask: “What does this reveal about their world?”
Typical Trap and Quick Fix
- Projecting your own beliefs into the past
- Ask: “What would they have assumed was normal or obvious?”
Signal Clues
- in [year/era], according to …, contemporaries, at the time, prevailing view, historically, scholars now believe, century‑old