PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

FACULTAD DE LETRAS
P. JULLIAN

BRITISH LANGUAGE & TRADITION (LET032I-1)

FINAL ASSIGNMENT (30%)

NAME: Ignacio Foeldes / DUE Nov 7th, 2018.

GUIDELINES AND ASSESSMENT RUBRICS

Choose a topic of your own interest and write an essay-like discussion of about 1100-1200 words.

Do not simply describe a single event at one moment in history, but develop it in such a way that you
contextualize it and provide an overview of the matter. Show its relevance arguing on the impact it has
had in the nation’s history.

It is meant to be argumentative but also expository essay, that is take a personal approach to the issue at
stake, but also provide facts that support your position. For this, you need to do a bit of research turning to
reliable sources. Remember to acknowledge them, since apart from the issue of transparency, this makes
your work more valuable and gives it credibility.

The idea is to read and dig into a theme different from the one you presented or wrote your 1st paper on.
The presentation may serve as the basis for your discussion or you may relate it to it but going beyond it.

Please state number of words at the end of the essay.

Use font 12 and 1.5 spaced at least!

Grading will be the same as the previous one that is according to the rubric shown below.

ASSESSMENT RUBRIC
1. CONTENT. (What)
~ Point at issue: Overall view and development 40 %
~ Relevance and accuracy of the information provided
~ Use & acknowledgement of sources
2. PERSONAL ELABORATION. (Why & How)
~ Justification of your choice 40%
~ Original Personal Approach: How the topic was tackled.
~ Appropriateness of the discussion.
3. LANGUAGE.
~ The clarity of discourse (coherence and cohesion) 20%
~ The overall structure of the paper
~ The correctness of English

FINAL GRADE
Comments
 PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE
FACULTAD DE LETRAS
P. JULLIAN

The House of Commons

Ignacio Foeldes

British way of living and culture have been moulded by a big variety of events
throughout history, such as important battles, civil wars, traditions, laws, etc. This essay
will focus in a very important part of the actual British society, the House of Commons,
a democratically chosen group of people who represent every citizen from the UK in the
Parliamentary meetings.

This set of people play a very important role in the Parliament. This last is known as the
highest legislature, which is conformed by the Monarchy, the House of Lords (the
appointed chamber) and the House of Commons (the elected chamber). From this three,
the main work is carried out by the House of Commons and The House of Lords. It´s
main functions are to check and challenge the work of the government, make new laws
and fix old ones, debate actual issues in the country and check the money the
government is spending. The monarch gives the final approval to new laws, appoints the
prime minister and officially opens parliament every year.

“The UK public elects 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests
and concerns in the House of Commons. MPs consider and propose new laws and can
scrutinize government policies by asking ministers questions about current issues either
in the Commons Chamber or in Committees.”1

Why do I think this House is important to investigate and talk about? First of all, as I
already mentioned, it is an essential part of the UK Parliament in actuality, but it has
been part of the British legislative system since the 13th century and from that moment
on it has been an essential part of the legislation in the UK. Second, I think that
democracy is a very important thing to have in a society life and this elected chamber
gives power to the people. They must have the option to choose who will create the

1
The work of the House of Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2018, from
https://www.parliament.uk/business/commons/what-the-commons-does/
 PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE
FACULTAD DE LETRAS
P. JULLIAN

laws that will shape their society, that´s why I think the House of Commons was
something worth investigating and discussing about.

So, let´s go back in history and see how this House has changed with it.
It all started in 1295, when the British society saw the creation of what was known as
the “Model Parliament”. Landholders and other property owners in towns and countries
started sending their own representatives to present all their petitions to the king. Then,
in the 14th century, the representatives (commons) started sitting in a separate room or
“house” from the one used by the high clergy and nobles (lords).

The House of Lords (upper house) had more power than the House of Commons (lower
house) at the beginning of Parliament, but within the 16th century, to be more precise, in
1547 king Henry VIII gave the permission for members of the lower house to meet at
St. Stephen´s Chapel (in Westminster Palace). “In the 15th century the House of
Lords was the Upper House and the House of Commons the Lower House. However,
since that date, the balance of power has shifted in favor of the Commons.”2

At the beginnings of the 19th century (1801), the Act of Union united Great Britain and
Ireland (North) to form the United Kingdom. At this moment the number of people who
made part of the House of Commons rose up from 558 to 658 people, where 71% of the
members were from England, 7% from Wales, 15% from Northern Ireland and 7% from
Scotland. But there was a problem with this number of people, because St Stephen´s
Chapel had a capacity of only 427 seats.

In 1834 most of the Old Westminster Palace was lost in a fire. This caused a necessary
investment to rebuild the palace and the chapel, design made by Augustus Welby Pugin
and Sir Charles Barry, the design allowed to increase the number of participants in the
Commons to 707 in 1918. , This design remained untouched until the II World War,
where a German bomb destroyed the chapel The last change made to the chamber was
in 1950, after the bombing, where the chamber had to be rebuilt, and It matched its
original shape and size.
2

Simkin, J. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://spartacus-educational.com/Pcommons.htm

 PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE
FACULTAD DE LETRAS
P. JULLIAN

To the date, the members of the House of Commons must be at least 18 years old, peers,
clergy, judicial officers, members of the armed forces, police officers and servants may
not be elected. Women became part of the house under an act in 1918. The prime
minister is always part of the Commons and he appoints the leader of the Commons.

So, What power does the House of Commons have now a days?  “It alone has the right
to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the various public
departments and services.”3

Committees are a very important part of the Commons meetings “Much of the work of
the House of Commons takes place in committees, made up of around 10 to 50 MPs.
These committees examine issues in detail, from government policy and proposed new
laws, to wider topics like the economy”4

To recap everything we mentioned recently, the House of Commons is the

democratically elected chamber of the Parliament, its main functions are to make and
review laws, debate important actuality issues, represent the public and hold the
government to account. Throughout history the house of commons has been gaining
power to reach an actual point in history, where the Commons are more powerful than
the Lords. Their ‘house’ is at the palace of Westminster, more specifically at St Stephen
´s Chapel, the chapel now a days has a capacity for 427 people, but 650 people make
part of the House of Commons, so it is impossible to have every representative of the
commons in every parliamentary meeting. I think it was an important theme to
investigate, because this house is the one that democratically represents the people,
differences don´t matter because there is a diverse group of people in the Commons that
probably will make the work right for the country in terms of legislation. If we trusted
our society in only the monarch, this last one may take advantage of power, such as

3
Britannica, T. E. (2018, January 10). House of Commons. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Commons-British-government

4
The work of the House of Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2018, from
https://www.parliament.uk/business/commons/what-the-commons-does/
 PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE
FACULTAD DE LETRAS
P. JULLIAN

King John I did, Adolf Hitler did and much other leaders also have done through
history. I feel it is very important to give the power to the people.

Word Count: 1109

Bibliography
What is the role of Parliament? (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2018, from
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/

Rabon, J., & Hitchhiker, J. R. (2018, January 15). Brit History: The Origins of the British Parliament –
The Mother of All Parliaments. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.anglotopia.net/british-
identity/brit-history-origins-british-parliament-mother-parliaments/

Britannica, T. E. (2018, January 10). House of Commons. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Commons-British-government

The work of the House of Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2018, from
https://www.parliament.uk/business/commons/what-the-commons-does/

Simkin, J. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://spartacus-educational.com/Pcommons.htm