yr13_ia_2007_ray_c

=Evaluation of Sources=

Source 1 [If a Bus Could Talk by Faith Ringgold]
This source is a cartoon story designed to be a teaching resource for children. On one hand this makes the source reliable, as a teaching aid it could be deemed more truthful in order to portray the correct facts to the children. Also, the book was published in 2003 thus making it a fairly recent story; the benefit of this is that the author is more likely write it objectively.

The source also has significant limitations. Children are the target audience of this story thus it's likely the story has been simplified to facilitate comprehension. The impact is that vital information is omitted deemed too complex for children. Also, the cartoon is a secondary source which could imply that its a narrow study focusing on one particular aspect of the event. Parks’ actions are the topic of the book and discussed in a make-believe manner; “Now the voice seemed to be coming from the bus itself. I could hardly believe it – I was on a talking bus!”[1] potentially confusing children which aspects are factual or fictional.

Source 2 [Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott]
Source 2 is taken from the September 2006 edition of ‘History Review’ and written by history teacher Viv Sanders. The source has the aim of giving an educational account of the Boycott whilst paying homage to Rosa Parks. Viv Sanders wrote the article to "take issue with these three contentions" referring to the varying portrayals of the Montgomery Boycott. The author has also written articles such as "African American Women & the Struggle for Racial Equality" displaying the extent of her knowledgeable in the field and that it is an area in which she specialises. As her articles have been published in respected journals, we can conclude that Viv Sanders' writing is of a high quality thus reinforcing its reliability.

Nevertheless, there are limiting factors to the source. To present Rosa Parks in a complimentary manner to celebrate her life, certain aspects of her story may be exaggerated. The purpose of the article is to educate 14-16 year olds of Rosa Parks' life in a hagiographical nature, "In the years after her refusal to give up her seat ... she became an icon." [2] It's likely that the language is restricted to make ideas comprehensible for younger people: certain aspects of the story may be omitted that can only be explained using complex vocabulary. As an article it is probable that the writer had a word limit to abide by. Viv Sanders would have had to decide which aspects of the event are the most important to discuss. This inevitably leads to an unavoidable portrayal of the author's own opinions in what gives the most representative idea of the events which led to the Bus Boycott.

451 words

[1] If a Bus Could Talk, p3 [2] Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Viv Sanders, History Review, September 2006