Document Sorter

Arrange these excerpts into groups. There are no correct groups. Name each group yourself.

Sorting
Drag each card into a group on the right. Click a group name to rename it. Click a mini-card in a group to return it to the main area. All 18 documents must be sorted before you can reveal.
Documents — unsorted
Your groups

What these documents are

Look at your groups. Now that you know what each document is: does that change how you would sort them? Which groupings feel more accurate now, and which feel wrong? What did you group together that surprised you?

Questions that cannot be answered quickly

For any two documents you grouped togetherIs this the same thing? What would it mean if it were?
For any two documents you did not group togetherWhat would you have to believe for these to belong in the same group?
About your group namesWhat does the name you chose reveal about what you were sorting by?
About the people who wrote theseWhat did each writer think they were doing? What did they think was true about the world?
About professional languageSeveral of these documents are written in neutral, administrative, or professional registers. What does that register do?
About timeSome of these documents span five centuries. Does that matter? What changes? What doesn't?

How this group sorted — points of disagreement

The disagreements are the conversation. Where did different people draw the lines? Why?