Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Q. The Medici family were instrumental to the wealth and influence of Florence in
Renaissance Italy. Do you agree with this statement? Why/Why not?
KEY: [Noun] groups with describer/s, classifier/s, qualifiers, nominalisations,
modality, concession, objective evaluative language, text connectives, complex
sentence, expert voice/sources, glossing, text opener, sentence openers
Features of
structure
Whole
text
Paragrap
h
Position statement
Argument
s
1. Used
nobility to
influence
governme
nt
PEEL:
Point
Elaborat
e
Evidence
(research
)
Link
Text
Language
Features
Extended [noun]
group: classifying and
qualifying verbs
Expert voice/sources:
lends academic and
technical weight to
position.
Text connective:
(causal)
Objective evaluative
language: explicit,
critical
2.
Controlled
banking
and wool
trade
3.
Patronage
of culture
and the
arts
Modality: high,
undoubtedly
Modality: high,
should
Text connectives:
signpost
development of
argument
Objective evaluative
language: grading
Complex sentence:
one independent
clause and one
dependent clause.
Objective evaluative
language: grading
The patronage of culture and the arts led by
the Medici family acted as a resounding
catalyst for the expansion of Florences wealth
and influence. Renaissance Italy was defined
by advancements in the arts, particularly in
expressions of humanism in painting and
sculpture that payed homage to ancient
Greece and Rome. This shift from the
traditional religious elements of art and
architecture branched into literature, science
and technology, heralding a new age of
discovery and learning. Individuals such as
Cosimo and Lorenzo de Medici were
particularly vocal in their support of the arts
and humanist values. While the commercial
influence of the Medicis declined under
Lorenzo, his generous support and patronage
of the artists Botticelli and Michelangelo
continued the cultural expansion of Florence
and the Renaissance through grand artworks.
A fine example of this is Botticellis painting
The Adoration of the Magi which depicts
several generations of the Medici family,
including his patron Lorenzo. The patron
system must be considered the vehicle of the
decisive cultural [expansion] of Florence
that was driven by the Medicis.
Reinforcement of
position
Noun group:
describing verb
Text connectives:
signpost
development of
argument
Extended noun
group: use of
describing, classifying
and qualifying verbs
Concessive
Subjective evaluative
language: implicit
Modality: medium,
would
below. You must identify and briefly outline the three main arguments of the text. An example
has been provided to help you complete the chart.
Argument 1
Used nobility to
influence government
Argument 3
Argument 2
Support
The Medici family were a
power in Florence for over
three hundred years. Their
status as nobles in
Florentine society, as well as
their position in the Signoria
(governing body of Florence)
enabled them to exercise
Support
Support