What is a primary source?

• A. A second-hand summary of events created after the event
• B. A diary written years after the event
• C. A first-hand account or original document created during the time of an event
• D. A modern film about the event

Answer: (C)

A primary source is an original, firsthand piece of evidence created during the time of an event by someone who experienced it. It provides direct insight into what happened, without someone else's interpretation in between. Examples include diaries or letters written during the event, official records, photographs, or eyewitness manuscripts. The other options are not primary sources because they are secondhand or later interpretations: a second-hand summary is a secondary source because it reproduces or analyzes someone else’s account; a diary written years after the event isn’t contemporaneous and doesn’t capture the event as it happened; and a modern film is a later interpretation that may synthesize various sources but isn’t the original evidence from the time. The best answer is a first-hand account or original document created during the time of the event because it preserves the raw, immediate perspective from that period.