Writing Feedback /
Memoir of the Chevalier ; Writing Section of the Toefl, Question 1 [7]
Hi, I wrote this essay corresponding to the Volume 3 of the "Quick Prep" from Ets. I would like to get any suggestions.
Have to get over 100 points in the exam so need to get top score!!! (I'm terribly bad on the Speaking)The reading passage states that the memoir of the Chevalier is inaccurate. Three examples are used to prove it. On the other side, the professor disagrees and gives counterexamples to refute each of the given examples. On the lecture is said that the memoir is one of the most reliable sources to learn about the Chevalier's life.
In first place, the reading claims that he was not as wealthy as is said, and bases this on the fact that he borrowed large sums of many from Swiss merchants. The professor refutes this by saying that he had a large number of properties instead of cash. The Chevalier had to borrow money because it usually took some days to convert his assets into actual money.
In second place, the article posits that the conversations between him and Voltaire were inaccurate due to the fact that the memoir was written years after they occurred. The professor opposes this point by saying that he used to write down the conversations every night and that he kept his notes for several years.
Finally, the Chevalier escaped from a prison in Venice. On the reading stands that he did it by bribing the guards. Opposed to that, on the lecture is said that other prisoners were even more powerful than him, and they could not escape. In addition, according to the registers of the police, the ceiling had to be repaired after he escaped.