How to Answer a
Focus Question
How to Answer a
Focus Question
This question deals with
Chapter 23. Open your book
and reference the text of
Traditions & Encounters as
I walk you through my
thinking and writing process.
This PowerPoint will use
explanations along the lefthand side and my written
response to the focus
question on the right-hand
side throughout the entire
presentation.
Follow along as I write a
thorough answer to the
following focus question:
 Discuss the four major
ways in which Europe was
transformed between 1500
and 1800.
First find the information …
The organization of the
textbook often provides clues
in how to answer focus
questions. In this case, the title
of Chapter 23 is The
Transformation of Europe …
and I’ve found the basic
answer in the titles of the four
sections: The Fragmentation of
Western Christendom, The
Consolidation of Sovereign
States, Early Capitalist Society
and Science and
Enlightenment.
Europe underwent significant
transformation in the early
modern period in distinct ways
that 1) impacted the Church, 2)
influenced the organization of
governments, 3) altered the
economy in ways that efficiently
accounted for supply and
demand, and 4) revolutionized
intellectual pursuits.
Paraphrase rather than copy
Put the textbook’s words
into your own because
merely copying down
information does not show
that you understand what
you’re reading and writing.
Notice that this opening
sentence provides a neat road
map for the rest of my essay
answer: I’ll sketch in some
brief details about each of the
four transformations in
subsequent sentences.
Europe underwent significant
transformation in the early
modern period in distinct ways
that 1) impacted the Church, 2)
influenced the organization of
governments, 3) altered the
economy in ways that efficiently
accounted for supply and
demand, and 4) revolutionized
intellectual pursuits.
From broad topics …
to concise details
The ability to summarize
concisely requires that you
read the text closely … and
then step back and think
about what’s truly
important. What you should
NOT be doing is setting out
on a seek-and-find mission,
looking for the key sentence
to pluck from the text and
transcribe onto your page.
That type of approach does
not allow you to absorb the
onslaught of details and
process them for essential
cause-and-effect
understanding.
First, the Catholic Church in the
West was forced into major reform
as Martin Luther, John Calvin and
others headed a movement that
came to be called the Protestant
Reformation, which led to the
founding of Christian churches
independent of the pope in Rome.
Focused summarization
requires much thought
Provide enough detail to
adequately answer the
question, but not so much
that the main idea is lost.
Remember, entire libraries
full of books have been
written on many of the topics
throughout world history. But
being succinct (while
remaining focused on the big
picture) is about more than
writing only a few sentences:
They all must matter and cut
to the heart of the matter.
Here (on this slide and the
last) I’ve pared more than
four pages of textbook
information down to three
sentences.
At the heart of the reform
movement stood the individual,
who in the reformers’ eyes should
be allowed to read the Bible not in
Latin but in everyday language –
and thus not be dependent on a
corrupt priestly class. As the
Reformation spawned a Catholic
counter-reformation, witch-hunts
and finally religious wars between
Protestant and Catholic states, the
Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)
devastated much of Europe.
Let the structure lead you
Wherever and
whenever possible,
compare and contrast.
This is central to critical
analysis – a key skill of
a historian. And again,
I’ve summarized a
handful of pages into
three sentences. There’s
no substitute for reading
the text closely, but
recall that the structure
of the narrative can help
you sort the details:
Each section has an
introduction followed by
subsections under bold
blue headings.
A second major transformation during
this time concerned government. In
contrast to the decentralized rule of the
Middle Ages, increasingly monarchs
consolidated power over entirely
sovereign states – often by exploiting
religious controversy to their
advantage and by profiting from
imperial aggression. In England and
the Netherlands, kings and queens
were checked by representative
parliaments, while in France, Spain
and elsewhere monarchs ruled with
absolute power.
Note key terms
When
summarizing from
Traditions &
Encounters, it’s
good practice to
check what you’ve
written against the
key terms printed
in the margins of
the text. If you’re
hitting many of
them, that means
you’re probably on
the right track. How
many of this
section’s margin
terms do you see in
the three sentences
to the right?
Another transformation came as
capitalism – spurred by rapid population
growth (thanks in part to American food
crops) – reshaped the European economy.
To an unprecedented degree, merchants
built efficient networks of transportation
and communication, leveraging economies
of scale with a new entrepreneurial entity:
the joint-stock company. So-called
“protoindustrialization” emerged as the
“putting-out system” sparked social
changes and set the stage for the later
advent of factories during the Industrial
Revolution of the 18th century.
Transition for clarity
As you move from
point to point in
your essay, lead
the reader
through each
transition so that
your thoughts
remain clear.
Notice how I’ve
done it:
 First,
 A second
major
transformation
 Another
transformation
 Finally,
Finally, Europe was greatly transformed
when advances in science and mathematics
completely altered our understanding of the
natural universe. The cold, secular rationality
of scientists like Isaac Newton was then
adopted by so-called Enlightenment
philosophers and used to think anew about
how best to organize human affairs and
ensure individual freedom. This intellectual
approach to analyzing society encouraged
leaders to promote the theory of progress and
prosperity, even as it further weakened
organized religion and failed in its ultimate
goal of social harmony.
What you come out with …
Europe underwent significant
transformation in the early modern period in
distinct ways that 1) impacted the Church, 2)
influenced the organization of governments,
3) altered the economy in ways that
efficiently accounted for supply and demand,
and 4) revolutionized intellectual pursuits.
First, the Catholic Church in the West was
forced into major reform as Martin Luther,
John Calvin and others headed a movement
that came to be called the Protestant
Reformation, which led to the founding of
Christian churches independent of the pope in
Rome. At the heart of the reform movement
stood the individual, who in the reformers’
eyes should be allowed to read the Bible not
in Latin but in everyday language – and thus
not be dependent on a corrupt priestly class.
As the Reformation spawned a Catholic
counter-reformation, witch-hunts and finally
religious wars between Protestant and
Catholic states, the Thirty Years’ War (16181648) devastated much of Europe.
A second major transformation during this
time concerned government. In contrast to
the decentralized rule of the Middle Ages,
increasingly monarchs consolidated power
over entirely sovereign states – often by
exploiting religious controversy to their
advantage and by profiting from imperial
aggression. In England and the Netherlands,
kings and queens were checked by
representative parliaments, while in France,
Spain and elsewhere monarchs ruled with
absolute power. Another transformation
came as capitalism – spurred by rapid
population growth (thanks in part to
American food crops) – reshaped the
European economy. To an unprecedented
degree, merchants built efficient networks of
transportation and communication,
leveraging economies of scale with a new
entrepreneurial entity: the joint-stock
company. So-called “protoindustrialization”
emerged as the “putting-out system” sparked
social changes and set the stage for the later
… is something that looks like
you’re striving for excellence!
advent of factories during the Industrial
Revolution of the 18th century. Finally,
Europe was greatly transformed when
advances in science and mathematics
completely altered our understanding of the
natural universe. The cold, secular
rationality of scientists like Isaac Newton
was then adopted by so-called
Enlightenment philosophers and used to
think anew about how best to organize
human affairs and ensure individual
freedom. This intellectual approach to
analyzing society encouraged leaders to
promote the theory of progress and
prosperity, even as it further weakened
organized religion and failed in its ultimate
goal of social harmony.
On Oct. 27, 1975, Bruce Springsteen appeared
on the covers of Time and Newsweek
simultaneously – something no other rock artist
had ever done. His new album at the time, Born
to Run, would not have been an instant classic –
and he would not have gone on to sell more than
65 million albums – if he’d been in the habit of
striving for mediocrity.
So remember Rule #1: Strive for Excellence.