How would I answer the question "to what extent was King Louis XVI to blame for the start of the French Revolution?"

Firstly when faced with a question asking 'to what extent' we know that we need to prioritise and compare different elements in our answer. This question also asks for the causes leading up to the French Revolution so in the answer you need to only focus on this time period. Firstly decide what you think the leading cause was and the evidence for this. It will help to start with what is mentioned in the question regarding King Louis XVI and political causes. It is often useful to split answers into the broad categories of cultural, political, economic and social. Especially when dealing with the French revolution. When comparing Louis' influence and cultural factors you may end up with an answer such as 'The actions of King Louis were the main cause for the French Revolution as he was out of touch with the will of the masses and lived lavishly while many starved. Meanwhile his proposed tax reforms aggravated the privileged classes also. Another reason for the start of the revolution was the growing interest in Enlightenment philosophy which challenged the rights of the king and tradition. King Louis' influence was the biggest reason though, as he held power to create change but did not manage to appease any section of the French populace in order to stop the breakout of the revolution." It is important not to sit on the fence in these answers and to make clear what you think the main reason was and why. The skill lies in comparison and prioritisation to answer the question and as long as you can provide proper evidence, any answer is valid.