Maria and the Wrongs of Woman

Select one text we have read in the course so far, and analyze how it engages (contributes to, or challenges, or reinforces, or overturns, etc.) this theme of public behavior. Develop a thesis which makes an argument regarding public behavior in the text you have chosen.

To support your thesis, focus on specific details which support your argument, and show how those details work together to advance your argument. You will need to quote the text, but take care not to over-depend on the quotations to make your argument for you. In addition, “show, don’t tell” – rather than declare that Moll is in difficult circumstances in Plate 3 of Hogarth’s Harlot’s Progress, for example, you need to cite specific details which reveal what is difficult about her circumstances (the sloppiness of her room and clothes, the men who seem to be barging into her room, the pock mark on her left cheek).

ESSAY DETAILS:

• Required length: 4-5 pages (That is, 4 *full* pages. Short essays will lose points)

• Discuss only one text in detail. I chose Maria or the Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wolstonecraft

• This essay is to be entirely your own analysis. Do not consult or quote outside sources.

• You will need to quote from the texts directly, but avoid excessive quotation. In an essay this short, you should only need one or two brief quotations per page. Excessive quotation will lower your final grade. Likewise, use no more than one block quotation in this essay. Review the MLA section on Purdue Online Writing Lab (link on Bb) if you’re not sure whether you need to use the block quotations format for a particular quotation.

• Use correct MLA format, paying particular attention to the updated rules for citing online material. Essays that do not conform to MLA guidelines will lose points. For a reminder of the basics of MLA formatting, see the checklist in Bb: Syllabus and Other Documents. For particulars about the updated MLA citation requirements, visit Perdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL).