Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

This research essay of no more than 1,000 words.

This assignment requires you to use secondary sources. Please note your secondary sources may include the essays included in the “Criticism” section of the Pride and Prejudice Norton edition. (I can’t find this electronic version online. Will you be able to obtain a copy?)

Quotations and paraphrases from both your primary source (Pride and Prejudice) and secondary sources (articles and books on Pride and Prejudice) means that your essay must include parenthetical citations and a Work Cited list. Note that the Norton edition of Pride and Prejudice should be included in your Works Cited list.

Consult chapter 34, section 34a of the Harbrace Handbook for Canadians for specific instructions on citing particular kinds of sources. If, for example, you quote from one of the essays included in the “Criticism” section of your Norton edition of Pride and Prejudice, look for the instructions on citing articles or essays first published elsewhere.

Whether your research is extensive or narrowly focused, remember to avoid turning your essay into a patchwork of quotations from different articles and books. Your thesis should be the controlling feature of your essay.

Essay Topic
Choose just one of the following:
1. Discuss the function and importance of letters in Pride and Prejudice.
2. Does Pride and Prejudice reinforce or erode sexist stereotypes of women?
3. “Time and space are small in Pride and Prejudice.” Discuss the significance of critic Dorothy Van Ghent’s comment on the novel’s setting.

Instructions
Your essay should have three parts: an introductory paragraph, a body containing fully developed paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. Below is a general guide for what to include in each section of your essay.
Your introductory paragraph should:
Introduce Pride and Prejudice and its author.
Identify clearly your essay topic.
Include a strong thesis statement on the topic.
Forecast the main stages of your analysis.

Your analysis in the body of your essay should:
Make effective use of topic sentences to identify the main ideas in your analysis.
Support your comments with evidence (paraphrase and direct quotations) from the novel.
Explain the significance of each piece of evidence you present as it relates to your thesis.
Identify the sources for all your quotations with parenthetical citations.
Contribute to our understanding of the novel as a whole.

Your concluding paragraph should:
Summarize the main stages of your analysis.
Restate your thesis in different words.