These passages are part of longer writing samples, they do not necessarily constitute a complete discussion of the issue presented. Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. The questions test your awareness of a writer’s purpose and of characteristics of prose that are important to good writing.     Questions below refer to the following paragraphs.   (1) Countless events in European history have shaped what we know today as the modern world. (2) Few of these events, however, had as much of an impact of the formation of modern society as the French Revolution.... Show more

These passages are part of longer writing samples, they do not necessarily constitute a complete discussion of the issue presented. Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow it. The questions test your awareness of a writer’s purpose and of characteristics of prose that are important to good writing.    

Questions below refer to the following paragraphs. 

 (1) Countless events in European history have shaped what we know today as the modern world. (2) Few of these events, however, had as much of an impact of the formation of modern society as the French Revolution. (3) Many historians, in fact, view the French Revolution as the very dawn of modern society. (4) The changes brought on by the revolution had a profound effect on life in France, Europe, and, eventually, around the world. (5) The fundamental shift in thinking spurred on by the French Revolution sparked a worldwide revolution that led to the modern era.    
 (6) In the eighteenth century, French society was divided into three classes called estates. (7) The First and Second Estates were comprised of the clergy and aristocracy, while the Third Estate was comprised of the country’s common people. (8) By the last quarter of the century, conditions had become all but unbearable for the Third Estate. (9) Financial instability led to widespread poverty among the lower class and drastically deficient food supplies meant many people were starving. (10) In addition, the First and Second Estates appears to be completely indifferent to the sufferings of the Third Estate. (11) Eventually, the Third Estate could take no more and, in 1789, the revolution began. (12) Within just a few years, the monarchy was overthrown and history was made.    
 (13) The fall of the French monarchy marked a significant change in the European way of life. (14) Traditional beliefs about government were transformed and the idea of monarchial rule was dispatched in favor of more balanced forms of government. (15) Enlightenment ideals such as citizenship and inalienable rights swept across Europe and radically altered life all over the continent. (16) The transformation of Europe inspired similar transformation across the globe and, eventually, yielded today’s modern world.    

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