How to tell the difference between a primary and secondary source?

Primary sources means that it is original article or book created by an individual or sometimes a group of people. What types of primary sources are available? It might be surprising to know that a novel is a primary source. Other types of primary sources are paintings created by the artist. If it were a photocopy of the painting, then it would be a secondary source. Some other primary sources are letters, films, short stories, plays, poems, photographs, court cases, journal articles, newspaper events, and speeches. For instance, a speech by President Bush would be a primary source.

Secondary sources are sources that are written about primary sources. Secondary sources analyze, interpret, and discuss information about the primary source. If a magazine writer wrote about the speech President Bush gave on September 11th, it would be a secondary source. The information is not original, but it is an analysis of the speech.