Your task is to interpret the raw material from which the written document or oral testimony extract is made up. Three basic processes in preparing a documentary commentary:
1) Comprehension: what is the written document or oral source saying?
2) Deduction: is there anything that can be deduced from what it does or does not say?
3) Research beyond the item to enhance the context.
1) Read through the item carefully and repeatedly
2) Place the gobbet in its historical context. What is its general nature and purpose? Is it official or unofficial? Who was the author and by whom was it intended to be read or heard? What circumstances caused it to be written or spoken? What effects did it have?
3) Expound the main points of the gobbet, making its meaning absolutely clear. Classify your exposition, if necessary.
4) Comment on the significance of the extract. Does it mark the beginning or end of some constitutional process? Does it resemble or differ from other sources on the subject?
5) How effective are the arguments expounded in the gobbet? What is the author trying to achieve, by what means, and with what success? Is the intention to bring about or prevent change? Might any of the arguments have had more force at the time of writing or speaking than they would have today? If so, why?
6) Indicate, no matter how briefly, whatever social, cultural, economic, political or constitutional implications are contained in the gobbet, and the consequences of the action or policy.
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