Link to text and lecture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AwnTItz-QMajaz-J5jsKgU_PKjz8c-gi/view?usp=sharing 

Task 1 – This is a high-level response. 

The professor starts by saying that no memoir is completely accurate but she believes that the memoir of the Chevalier de Seingalt was fairly accurate and can be used as a valuable hostorical source. Though some critics disagree she is convinced that the memoir is accurate about it's details and has given considerable proof in her lecture. [starts by mentioning both texts]

While living in Switzerland the Chevalier mentions that he was wealthy and that he would indulge in extravaganzas like parties and gambling. The new evidence that the Chevalier did, infact, borrow money from Swiss merchants does not necessarily mean that he was poor. On the contrary the Professor theorizes that the Chevalier had a lot of assets as wealth and it would require time for him to convert the assets into readily useable currency. In such unfortunate circumstances where his vices would require immediate money he would borrow some, for the time being, only to pay them back later. Her theory is logical and sound. [the author mentions what is in the text and then compares it to what the lecturer says]

The second piece critics would like to disclaim as true is the count of all conversations with Voltaire which he recorded with accuracy in his memoir which was penned down years later. The professor puts forward the fact that the Chevalier would dutifuly make a note of the entire length of the conversation every night after meeting with Voltaire. Such an act is confirmed by witnesses who saw the Chevalier refer to journals and notes while writing his memoir. [The author mentions the second argument and, again, what the lecturer says about it]

The final piece is the account of the dramatic jail break from Venice where he used a piece of metal to crerate a hole in the roof and then escaped. Such an account, though hard to believe, might actually be true as the Professor points out to some Italian government records dating back to that time which shows repairs being carried out to the cieling of the very same cell in which the Chevalier was imprisoned. [Finally, the third piece is mentioned and then again the lecturer's point of view about it]

Though it may seem a bit dramatic and over the top, on the outset, the Professor is convinced that the memoirs of the Chevalier were true and accurate and could be used as a historical reference towards eighteenth century Europe. [To close the essay, the author balances all the information presented above and concludes by mentioning the lecturer's main claim]

Explanation: 

This response is in the high writing proficiency range. It would probably earn the score of 5 based on the Integrated Writing Scoring Rubric. The response is well organized, conveys the important information from all three lecture points, and connects it well with information that was presented in the reading passage. In response to the reading argument that the Chevalier de Seingalt exaggerated his wealth because we know he was forced to borrow money; the writer correctly conveys the lecturer’s argument that the Chevalier needed the loans only because his considerable assets could not always be quickly converted into cash. In response to the argument that the Chevalier could not possibly remember his conversations with Voltaire so many years later, the writer conveys that the Chevalier based his memoirs on extensive notes he took at the time of his conversations with the famous author. Finally, in response to the argument that the Chevalier’s description of his escape from prison through a hole in a ceiling is hard to believe, the writer conveys the argument that the Chevalier’s account is supported by the historical records describing ceiling repairs in the prison where he was held. There are a few minor language errors (“it's details”, “count of all conversations”, “records… which shows repairs being carried out”, “on the outset”) but they do not interfere with meaning in any way. In fact, the writer is very skilled in using sophisticated and accurate paraphrasing to convey the content from the lecture and the passage. A few examples: “he would indulge in extravaganzas like parties and gambling”; “conversations with Voltaire which he recorded with accuracy in his memoir which was penned down years later”; “repairs being carried out to the cieling [ceiling] of the very same cell in which the Chevalier was imprisoned.”