This paper deserved an A because aside from a perfect spelling and punctuation, the author’s writing was to the point. The paper had no superfluous statements, and each sentences worked toward answering the thesis. In addition, the author does a great job at contextualizing his topic thus making it accessible to any readers.  The usage of quotes followed the same pattern: quotations from the text were only given to illustrate his point while additional references were simply paraphrases.

The argument itself was well constructed: The author’s interpretation of the reign of Peter the Great and Catherine II were correct and logical. Furthermore, the author’s analysis of the documents was used as a mean to both analyze the continuation of the reformist ideals throughout the century, but also changes within reigns, particularly that of Catherine II, thus providing solidity and depth to the argument. Such analysis of the sources allows the author to both give context and prove the thesis.

The structure of the paper was also interesting. In the case of Peter, the author started the argument through a description of the table of ranks, only referring to Peter to articulate that Russia was in need of centralization, therefore making a good usage of topic sentences. Following this brief description, the author then explained Peter’s aim behind the table of ranks as well as the consequences it had on Russia. In the case of Catherine II, this time the author first focused on the environment in which Catherine was at the beginning of her reign, period in which the Charter to the nobility was written. Then proceeded to explain why this environment caused her to create the Charter to the towns. While such method permitted the author to emphasize on Catherine’s reign, it also allowed tying the two periods in a manner that solidified the argument. In other words, the structure of the paper is organized well enough so that it eases the flow of the argument.