How to create an evidence timeline

1. 1.Collect every date-bearing document

   Gather emails, letters, invoices, text messages, photographs and notes, and identify the date associated with each one, whether that is a sent date, a document date, or a date mentioned in the text. Some documents, especially scanned letters, may need the date read manually if it is not in the metadata.

2. 2.Set up a simple table structure

   Create a spreadsheet or document with columns for date, event description, source document, and page or file reference. Keep the description factual and brief, for example 'Landlord confirmed repair booked for 12 April' rather than a summary of your feelings about it.

3. 3.Enter events in strict date order

   Add each entry to the table in the order it happened, not the order you found the documents. If several events happened on the same day, order them by time where you can tell, or note that the order within the day is uncertain.

4. 4.Use consistent date formats throughout

   Pick one date format, such as DD Month YYYY, and use it for every entry so the timeline reads consistently and sorts correctly if you later reorder it in a spreadsheet.

5. 5.Cross-check disputed or approximate dates

   Where a document only implies a date, such as 'last Tuesday', work out the actual calendar date from context and note in brackets that it is inferred. Do not silently guess at a date without flagging that it is an inference.

6. 6.Mark contradictions between sources

   If two documents give different dates for what appears to be the same event, include both entries and note the discrepancy directly in the table rather than picking one and discarding the other.

7. 7.Identify and note any gaps

   Look for periods where you would expect correspondence but have none, for example a two-month silence after a complaint. Gaps can be as significant as the events you do have evidence for, so record them rather than leaving the reader to notice them unprompted.

8. 8.Add a short narrative summary at the top

   Once the table is complete, write two or three sentences summarising the overall pattern the timeline shows, referring back to specific dates. This gives a reader immediate context before they work through the detail.

9. 9.Keep the timeline linked to source files

   Make sure every entry can be traced back to the original document it came from, either by file name or a reference number, so anyone checking your timeline can verify each point independently.

Suppose you are disputing a delayed delivery. Your table might read: 3 Jan, order placed, confirmation email; 10 Jan, expected delivery date passed, no contact; 15 Jan, you emailed asking for an update, sent email; 18 Jan, supplier replied promising delivery by 25 Jan, reply email; 2 Feb, item still not received, your follow-up email. Laid out this way, the five-week gap and the missed promise are immediately obvious, whereas they might be buried in a long email thread if presented in full.

A chronological timeline lists events strictly in the order they occurred, based on dates found in or attached to your documents. An inferred date is one you have worked out from context rather than read directly from a document, and should always be marked as such.

Timelines lose credibility quickly if they mix opinion with fact or skip over inconvenient gaps.

• Recording an event's date as the date you found the document rather than the date it describes
• Omitting periods of silence because nothing 'happened'
• Failing to distinguish a confirmed date from an inferred one
• Losing track of which source document each entry came from

TraceFolio builds a chronological timeline automatically from up to 20 uploaded documents, including scanned letters and screenshots read with OCR, and cites the source file or passage behind each dated entry in the resulting report.

It also lists items separately under important dates and flags contradictions and inconsistencies it finds between documents, though it cannot tell you which version of events is correct; that remains a judgement for you or whoever reviews the dispute.