285 words
In this set of materials, the author states that some critics question the
accuracy of the Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir. The professor, on the
other hand, affirms that the Chevalier’s memoir is pretty accurate, and it is
a reliable historical source.
First, according to the author, critics question the Chevalier’s wealth
because he borrowed sums of money from a Swiss merchant. The lecturer
explains that the Chevalier had wealth, but it was the kind of property you
have to sell first to get money. As it took a few days to convert his assets
into actual money, when he ran out of cash, he had to borrow some while
he was waiting for his money to arrive.
Second, the reading passage raises doubts about the accuracy of the
conversations between the Chevalier and Voltaire. However, the professor
says that the Chevalier each night, after conversing with Voltaire, wrote
down everything he could remember about that particular conversation.
The Chevalier kept his notes and referred to them when writing the
memoir. Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier confirm that he regularly
consulted notes and journals when composing the memoir.
Third, the reading passage states that critics claim that the Chevalier’s
jailers could have been bribed to free him. The professor opposes that
saying that other prisoners in the Venetian prison had more powerful
friends than the Chevalier did, and none of them were able to bribe their
way to freedom. Some old Venetian government documents indicate that
soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison, the ceiling of his old
prison room had to be repaired. There would be no need to repair a
ceiling unless the Chevalier had escaped exactly as he said he did.
300 words
In this set of materials, the author states that some critics question the
accuracy of the Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir. The professor, on the
other hand, affirms that the Chevalier’s memoir is pretty accurate, and it is
a reliable historical source.
First, according to the lecturer, the Chevalier had wealth, but it was the
kind of property you have to sell first to get money. As it took a few days
to convert his assets into actual money, when he ran out of cash, he had
to borrow some while he was waiting for his money to arrive. That clearly
opposes the reading passage which questions the Chevalier’s wealth
because he borrowed sums of money from a Swiss merchant.
Second, the professor says that the Chevalier states in his memoir that
each night, after conversing with Voltaire, he wrote down everything he
could remember about that particular night’s conversation. The Chevalier
kept his notes for many years and referred to them when writing the
memoir. Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier confirm that he regularly
consulted notes and journals when composing the memoir. That opposes
the reading passage which raises doubts about the accuracy of the
conversations between the Chevalier and Voltaire.
Third, the professor explains that other prisoners in the Venetian prison
had more powerful friends than the Chevalier did, and none of them were
able to bribe their way to freedom. Some old Venetian government
documents indicate that soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison,
the ceiling of his old prison room had to be repaired. There would be no
need to repair a ceiling unless the Chevalier had escaped exactly as he said
he did. That contradicts the reading passage which states that critics claim
that the Chevalier’s jailers could have been bribed to free him.
319 words
In this set of materials, the author states that some critics question the
accuracy of the Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir. The professor, on the
other hand, affirms that the Chevalier’s memoir is pretty accurate, and it is
a reliable historical source.
First, the author states that critics raised doubts about the Chevalier’s
wealth because there is evidence that the Chevalier borrowed sums of
money from a Swiss merchant. However, the lecture explains that the
Chevalier had wealth, but it was the kind of property you have to sell first
to get money. As it took a few days to convert his assets into actual
money, when he ran out of cash, he had to borrow some while he was
waiting for his money to arrive.
Second, according to the author, critics are skeptical about the accuracy of
the conversations between the Chevalier and the famous writer Voltaire.
The professor says that the Chevalier states in his memoir that each night,
after conversing with Voltaire, he wrote down everything he could
remember about that particular night’s conversation. The Chevalier kept
his notes for many years and referred to them when writing the memoir.
Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier confirm that he regularly
consulted notes and journals when composing the memoir.
Third, the author says that critics also questioned the memoir’s account of
the Chevalier’s escape from a prison in Venice, Italy. They claim the
Chevalier’s jailers could have been bribed to free him. However, the
professor explains that other prisoners in that prison had more powerful
friends than the Chevalier did, and none of them were able to bribe their
way to freedom. Some old Venetian government documents indicate that
soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison, the ceiling of his old
prison room had to be repaired. There would be no need to repair a
ceiling unless the Chevalier had escaped exactly as he said he did.
381 words.
In this set of materials, the author states that some critics question the
accuracy of the Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir. They say that the
Chevalier invented or distorted many events in the memoir to make his
life seem more exciting than it really was. The professor, on the other
hand, affirms that the Chevalier’s memoir is pretty accurate, and it is a
reliable historical source.
First, the author states that critics raised doubts about the Chevalier’s
wealth because there is evidence that the Chevalier borrowed sums of
money from a Swiss merchant. However, the lecture explains that the fact
that the Chevalier borrowed money does not mean that he was poor. He
had wealth, but it was the kind of property you have to sell first to get
money. As it took a few days to convert his assets into actual money,
when he ran out of cash, he had to borrow some while he was waiting for
his money to arrive.
Second, according to the author, critics are skeptical about the accuracy of
the conversations between the Chevalier and the famous writer Voltaire.
The professor says that the Chevalier states in his memoir that each night,
immediately after conversing with Voltaire, he wrote down everything he
could remember about that particular night’s conversation. The Chevalier
kept his notes for many years and referred to them when writing the
memoir. Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier confirm that he regularly
consulted notes and journals when composing the memoir.
Third, the author says that critics also questioned the memoir’s account of
the Chevalier’s escape from a prison in Venice, Italy. Critics claim that the
Chevalier had many politically well-connected friends who could have
bribed his jailers to free him. However, the professor explains that other
prisoners in that prison had even more powerful friends than the
Chevalier did, and none of them were ever able to bribe their way to
freedom, so bribery hardly seems likely in his case. The best evidence,
though, comes from some old Venetian government documents. They
indicate that soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison, the ceiling
of his old prison room had to be repaired. There would be no need to
repair a ceiling unless the Chevalier had escaped exactly as he said he did.
442 words
In this set of materials, the author states that some critics question the
accuracy of the Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir. They say that the
Chevalier invented or distorted many events in the memoir to make his
life seem more exciting than it really was. The professor, on the other
hand, affirms that the Chevalier’s memoir is pretty accurate, and it is a
reliable historical source.
First, the author states that the Chevalier claimed to be very wealthy
when living in Switzerland, but there is evidence that the Chevalier
borrowed sums of money from a Swiss merchant. According to critics, he
would not have needed to borrow money if he had been rich. However,
the lecture explains that the fact that the Chevalier borrowed money does
not mean that he was poor. He had wealth, but it was the kind of property
you have to sell first to get money. As it took a few days to convert his
assets into actual money, when he ran out of cash, he had to borrow some
while he was waiting for his money to arrive.
Second, according to the author, critics are skeptical about the accuracy of
the conversations between the Chevalier and the famous writer Voltaire
because the memoir was written many years after the conversations
occurred. The professor opposes that saying that the Chevalier states in
his memoir that each night, immediately after conversing with Voltaire, he
wrote down everything he could remember about that particular night’s
conversation. The Chevalier kept his notes for many years and referred to
them when writing the memoir. Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier
confirm that he regularly consulted notes and journals when composing
the memoir.
Third, the author says that critics also questioned the memoir’s account of
the Chevalier’s escape from a prison in Venice, Italy. According to the
Chevalier, he escaped the Venetian prison by using a piece of metal to
make a hole in the ceiling and climbing through the roof. Critics claim that
the Chevalier had many politically well-connected friends who could have
bribed the Chevalier’s jailers to free him. However, the professor explains
that other prisoners in that prison had even more powerful friends than
the Chevalier did, and none of them were ever able to bribe their way to
freedom, so bribery hardly seems likely in his case. The best evidence,
though, comes from some old Venetian government documents. They
indicate that soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison, the ceiling
of his old prison room had to be repaired. There would be no need to
repair a ceiling unless the Chevalier had escaped exactly as he said he did.