Please follow the directions posted below.
Directions: Choose 1-2 women writers and at least one of her/their texts to answer the following questions: Who else besides Austen, Woolf, Roy, and Flynn should be considered a major woman writer and why? How does this woman help us better understand writing and/or women? How can she/they change our conception of what it takes to be a major woman writer?
Organization and Research: This essay combines both research and analysis to provide insight into women’s writing. Because of this, it is recommended that you divide your paper into four sections–introduction, background on the author, analysis, and conclusion. Of course, make sure that each section supports a central thesis, and feel free to title each section as you want. Your research may be on the historical context and/or life of these writers, but you can also rely on critical/feminist theory or scholarly analyses of these women writers. In either case, I recommend looking at the topics in our syllabus (main schedule and presentation schedule) for ideas of other writers to research. The course bibliography is another great place to start as well as, more specifically, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, A Celebration of Women Writers (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.), the Oxford Encyclopedia (which has entries and bibliographies for all writers as well as literary movements, for instance, this entry on 20th Century Women Writers (Links to an external site.). [access more through the Marymount library]), and the many Cambridge Companions to different authors and periods, for instance, theCambridge Companion to African American Women’s Literature (Links to an external site.). You may as well choose a favorite writer of your own. You could even write an essay about women who might not always be thought of as writers but who do use their voices, women like Beyonce or DC Mayor Muriel Bowser!
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Requirements: The essay needs to be approximately 7-10 pages double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font with MLA formatted citations and an original title. Focus on 1-2 women writers and at least one of her/their works (speech, script, poem, novel, article, etc.) to concentrate your analysis. This requires you to read a text outside the assigned class material, so start early! You must also use at least 3 scholarly sources in your paper (in addition to the works of the author you are focusing on) to either provide context or support your argument.
