Essay
For your first essay, you will write about one or more of the literary works that we studied under the theme of “Women’s Lives, Work, and Vision.” You
have two options: you may write a critical essay examining some literary aspect (theme or symbolism, for example) of one or more of the works, or you may take a more
personal approach and write about your own feelings regarding the theme we studied and then connect your ideas to one or more of the literary works. Here are some
ideas for you to consider, although you may certainly come up with your own:
Changes in the ways society views a woman and her position in society
Struggles women experience in finding/maintaining relationships
What defines a woman, according to you
The role of sexuality and passion for women during different literary periods
Motherhood
The role of a woman as an artist
You will have an introduction indicating the title of the work(s) you are going to discuss, the author of that work(s), and your thesis statement. Your introduction
should be at least five sentences. Then, you will have body paragraphs (again, at least five sentences each), each of which will begin with a topic sentence that
connects to your thesis in some way. You will never begin nor end a body paragraph with a quote. It will always begin with a topic sentence and end with a clincher
(a sentence from your idea that gives the relevance of the details you have just given). Also, in the body, you must use quotes or details from the literature to
support your ideas. Use MLA parenthetical documentation. Finally, you will have a conclusion which will restate your thesis statement (not verbatim, please), the
title of the work(s) discussed, and the author(s).
Estimated length: 2-3 pages
