Imagine that you've been asked to respond to the following question:
The fifteenth and sixteenth century voyages of exploration produced lasting changes in the political and social structure of Western Europe. Would you say that these voyages tended to hasten or to delay the growth of national states? Explain.
A solid writing strategy for responding to essay questions is the following:
Answer the Question + At Least One Reason + Closing Statement
Keep your responses focused, structured, and prove your points with evidence.
Here's how to do it.
1) Begin with a direct answer to the question. The easiest way to do this is to restate the question in a way that incorporates your answer. If you will give more than one reason or address more than one topic in your response, pre-outline the topics/reasons you will discuss in order.
The exploration of the 15th and 16th centuries hastened the growth of national states. The reasons have to do with war, wealth, trade, and nationalism.
2) Address your reason(s) in order.
One of the prime ingredients for the beginning of national states was a common danger from outside. Because countries went to war over the right to control certain colonies and trade routes, each country had to unite within in order to fight off any aggressor.
A. Use transitions to move smoothly between reasons.
Other forms of competition between countries contributed to the growth of national states. Competition for land and wealth was fierce. The resources of the new lands, such as coffee, spices, minerals, were considered valuable. Each country was eager to gain land because the products of the land could be turned into more wealth, as when Cortez conquered the Aztecs and exploited their gold and silver.A united country could best succeed in this form of competition.
B. Incorporate examples to amplify your reasoning.
These resources, brought about by new discoveries, increased the power of mercantilism. Mercantilism is a system in which the mother country takes from its colonies raw materials and sells them back in the form of finished products. This allows the mother country to keep economic control over the colonies. With the opening of new trade routes, the Northern and Western European states were able to break the Venetian-Arab trade monopoly with the Indies. The colonization led to a system involving a state-controlled market between the colony and the mother country. This permitted the nations of Europe to become economically separate units with no common market existing between them—a condition which fostered nationalism. It is interesting to note that Italy, which did little exploration, took longer to become a united nation than did the other countries of Europe.
C. Use signal phrases and in-text citations to identify your sources.
Another feature in producing national states was the national pride these voyages tended to produce. According to Taylor, the voyages were financed by a national government (2020). Any new discovery was seen as reflecting the prestige of the sponsoring government and its people, and this added pride contributed to the spirit of nationalism (Martin, 2012).
3. End with a closing statement that wraps up your response and reminds the reader of your position on the question.
The changes produced by exploration were key contributors to national growth.
Thanks to Texas State University for the example here.
