From: Oration on the Dignity of Man written by Pico Della Mirandola
"I have set thee," say the Creator to Adam, "in the midst of the world, that thou mayst the more easily behold and see all that is therein. I created thee a being neither heavenly nor earthly, neither mortal nor immortal only, that thou mightest be free to shape and to overcome thyself. Thou mayst sink into a beast, and be born anew to divine likeness....To thee alone is given a growth and a development depending on thine own free will."
From: Michelangelo's scene on the Moment of Man's Creation,
Sistine Chapel
Effective answers to essay questions also depend in part upon a clear understanding (and execution) of the meanings of important directive words, some examples of which follow. These are the words that indicate the way in which the material is to be presented. For example, if students only describe when they are asked to compare, or if they merely list causes when they have been asked to evaluate them, their responses will be less than satisfactory. An essay can begin to be correct only if it answers directly the question that is asked. Higher scores will be awarded to essays that demonstrate a balanced treatment of the tasks specified by the question. Here are some commonly used words or phrases to define the tasks of the essays. The following presents some of these wordings and how they can be interpreted: 1. Analyze: determine the component parts; examine their nature and relationship. “Analyze the major social and technological changes that took place in European warfare between 1789 and 1871.’’ 2. Assess/Evaluate: judge the value or character of something; appraise; evaluate the positive points and the negative ones; give an opinion regarding the value of; discuss the advantages and disadvantages of. “‘Luther was both a revolutionary and a