7. Reading Social Studies Sources & Data

The GED® Social Studies test is really a reasoning test. You'll read documents, quotes, maps, cartoons, and graphs, and answer questions about them.

Know your sources:

• A primary source comes from the time being studied — a letter, a speech, a photo, a law (for example, the Declaration of Independence itself).
• A secondary source was made later by someone analyzing events — a textbook or a historian's article.

When you read a source, ask who made it, when, and why. Every source has a point of view, and authors may show bias — presenting only one side. Loaded, emotional language is a clue that a source is trying to persuade, not just inform.

For graphs and tables, do what you did in math: read the title, the labels, and the units; find the trend; and use only what the data actually shows. Remember that correlation is not causation.

⚠️ Common misconception: a source being 'official' or old does not make it unbiased. Always consider the author's purpose.

💡 Tip: separate fact (checkable) from opinion (a judgment). The strongest answers are supported directly by the source.