Directions+for+compare+contrast+essay+Awakening+Yellow+Wallpaper

Mrs. Trudy A. Miller**
 * AP English


 * Assignment: Compare/Contrast Essay: //The Awakening// by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.**


 * Directions:** //The Awakening// by Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman are both concerned with the social conditions of American women during the late Nineteenth Century. In a well-written essay compare and contrast the female protagonists, Edna and Jane, from both literary works. Your essay should consider how both women coped with the social mores of the time period.

Double spacing, 12 point font, Helvetica or Geneva font Proper page headings Prepare and submit: brainstorm in three vertical columns as instructed, outline, rough draft, final copy.
 * Requirements:**

Your hook might be something like this: Can you imagine a woman of privilege, a woman who lived in a fine home, had servants to help her, possessed extravagant material things, and who was married to a caring and devoted husband having any excuse for being unhappy? Well, this is exactly the case with Edna, the protagonist, in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Jane, the protagonist in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The key points around which you compare and contrast these two protagonists might be something like this: The unhappiness and dissatisfaction of both women manifested itself in their relationship with their husbands and families, in their intellectual interests, and in their overall emotional well-being. You might then lay out the body of your paper, where you would have six body paragraphs. In your first body paragraph you might write all about Edna and the relationship with her husband and family. The second body paragraph would then compare and contrast the relationship that Jane had with her husband and family to that of Edna. You would then follow this same pattern for the next two points around which you will be comparing and contrasting your two protagonists.
 * General Advice:**
 * Layout of Paper:**
 * Introduction:** Hook, Thesis Statement that clearly addresses the task, remember to state the two works that you are comparing and contrasting, main points that clearly show how you are going to compare and contrast your two topics – these will become your body paragraphs.
 * Body:** Your main points will be the points around which you compare and contrast the two characters. Use the alternating method to compare and contrast. Be sure to use transitions of compare and contrast in the body of your paper. I have included a helpful list for you.
 * Conclusion:** Do not state anything new. Tie your conclusion back to your introduction. Reiterate your thesis and your key points and end with a super clincher that drives home the point of your paper.
 * Number of Paragraphs for Your Essay:** Depending on how you decide to break down the body of your essay, you will have either a total of five or eight paragraphs in your essay. The number of paragraphs will depend on if your body will be comprised of three body paragraphs or of six body paragraphs. Your introduction will be your first paragraph whether your body is three or six paragraphs. If your body is composed of three paragraphs, each body paragraph will focus on a single way that you are going to compare Jane and Edna. If your body is composed of six paragraphs, you will use two body paragraphs to compare Jane and Edna on a single point. In this method, you will write a body paragraph in which you first focus on Jane regarding a specific point. You will then write a partner paragraph that focuses on Edna regarding this same point. Your conclusion will be your final paragraph whether your body is three or six paragraphs.
 * Fine-tuned advice:**


 * Note** – You may use the ideas I presented above when writing your own essay.