Writing Free Response Essays

Basically:

• Use the five paragraph pattern:• Introduction: thesis answers question directly

and indicates support• Body paragraphs: – Points indicated in introduction that support your

thesis– Particulars: facts that prove your points

• Conclusion: quickly sums up your answer—may point beyond to importance/significance

Question: Describe and evaluate the Medieval system of social classes. What distinguished this system?.

Introduction

• Thesis answers question directly and indicates support– Usually two-four general parallel points that

support the answer of the thesis question• The medieval social order formed a rigid

hierarchy of four closed social groupings. People might move up within their social group, but with the exception of warfare and the church, could not really move between groups.

Body Paragaphs• Body paragraphs:

– Points indicated in introduction that support your thesis– Particulars: facts that prove your points

• Hierarchy of four social groupings– Nobility– Church– Merchant class– Peasants/serfs

• Movement within groupings– Church upper hierarchy= mostly nobility– Merchant/artisan classes growth, growing independence of manors– Peasants: serfs, peasants who farmed the nobles’ lands, but were independent,

landholding peasants• Movement between groups

– War--knighthood– Church—only way for peasant to make his way out of peasant class, but

obviously NOT hereditary/passed down to offspring

Conclusion

• Conclusion: quickly sums up your answer—may point beyond to importance/significance

• Though the primary characteristic of the social groupings of Nobility, Church, Merchants/ Artisans, and Peasants was that the classes were fixed by birth and rigid, a very few people had the opportunity to move into the church hierarchy and work their way up to power or prove themselves on the field of battle to work their way into the nobility.

Writing Comparisons

• Which influenced Medieval history most, the kings, the Church, or the nobles?

• Thesis: indicate your choice and the bases on which you will compare the three classes– Though the kings eventually triumphed over the

church politically, and the nobles played an important economic role, the Catholic church dominated Medieval society with roles in politics and the economy, and with total control philosophically.

Possible organizations:• Nobles

– philosophical role only through church—supplied church hierarchy

– Political: conflict with kings (Magna Charta); increasing centralization sapped their power.

– Economic: controlled through roles as producers, consumers; manor= basis for settlement and taxation; bankrolled merchants.

• King– Philosophical: role of confessors, tutors and priests in

educating and dictating – Economic: granted charters and monopolies,

controlled own manors, but dependent on nobility for most production, distribution, consumption; nobility paid and collected taxes and rents, etc

– Political: struggles with pope (Philip the Fair, Edwards) and with nobles: kings won; kings conducted 100 Years’ War

• Church– Political: declining, though still powerful secular

monarchs unam sanctum fight– Economic: powerful force because of extensive

properties: they were nobles– Philosophical: Religious philosophy prevailed,

dictated and enforced by excommunication, interdiction, executions for heresy

• Economic– Kings granted charters and monopolies, controlled

own manors, but dependent on nobility for most production, distribution, consumption; nobility paid and collected taxes and rents, etc

– Church: powerful force because of extensive properties: however, they were nobles

– Nobles controlled through roles as producers, consumers; manor= basis for settlement and taxation; bankrolled merchants.

• Political– Nobles struggled with kings (Magna Charta);

increasing centralization sapped their power– Political: declining, though still powerful secular

monarchs unam sanctum fight– Kings’ struggles with pope (Philip the Fair, Edwards)

and with nobles: kings won; kings conducted 100 Years’ War

• Philosophical– Nobles: role only through church—supplied church

hierarchy– King: role of confessors, tutors and priests in

educating and dictating – Church: Religious philosophy prevailed, dictated and

enforced by excommunication, interdiction, executions for heresy

Unit review question answers

• Write the same kind of thesis sentence (or paragraph) as you would for an actual FRQ.– Answer the question or series of questions

DIRECTLY, but generally.– Indicate your agenda: supporting points that

would explain/develop your answer• Instead of outlining body paragraphs, list ppt’s

you would use to back up and illustrate your generalizations.

Sample Unit Review answer:

Describe the medieval social order. Could a person move up in society during this period? Explain:

Thesis: The medieval social order formed a rigid hierarchy of four closed social classes: Nobility, Church (the highest offices being filled mostly by nobles), Merchants/ Artisans, and Peasants . People might move up within their social group, but with the exception of warfare and the church, could not really move between groups.

PPT’s to support: feudalism, vassalage, fealty, manor, fief, Jacquerie/John Ball and Wat Tyler, benefices