esperanto_story1-1, Exercise 3: Three sources assessed

Model answer (check the details):

1. Zamenhof's Unua Libro (1887). Who made it: the founder. Why: to introduce and persuade readers to learn the language. Trust: reliable for what he proposed and claimed at the time; not neutral about the value of the project.

2. A world congress report. Who made it: the organisers and participants. Why: to record the event and encourage members. Trust: good for dates, places, attendance and programmes; likely to present the movement favourably.

3. An independent historian's study. Who made it: an academic or writer outside the movement, using archives. Why: to explain or analyse the history. Trust: strong for context and cross-checking, but the historian may rely on the same sources and may have a view of the movement.

Another example: memoirs by early followers are vivid but retrospective, and critics' pamphlets show what opponents feared but may exaggerate.

Care: no source is "neutral" in the sense of having no purpose. Use several kinds together.