Document everything —if you look it up, you must document it

Essay 1 (25%): This essay should be 2 pages long. Shorter or longer essays are Not acceptable.
Please discuss one of the following themes for your short essay assignment: 1) the theme of madness, or freedom, or alienation, or the imposition of gender roles in ” The Yellow Wallpaper”; 2) the main conflict facing the main character (the woman), or the imposition of gender roles in “A Sorrowful Woman.”
Your short essay should Not be a summary of the story. It should be about two pages long and should show evidence of critical thinking and reflection. You do not need to use secondary sources for this essay. This essay is just an opportunity for you to explore one of the above topics in more detail.
Secondary sources are encouraged but not required.
The essay is due by Saturday evening of week 2.
—You can and should cite from the primary text (the story). Be sure to use appropriate in-text documentation. (Review MLA citation).
—This essay should have an introduction with a solid thesis, a body, and a conclusion.
Every essay should have a beginning (introduction, which clearly states the subject, goal, and thesis *statement* [the thesis is never a question; it is the answer to the question], and a brief map of your essay. Review: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/ (Links to an external site.) ), middle (body, in which you cite evidence and use facts to support your thesis), and ending (conclusion: summarize and synthesize the evidence for your essay).
A few tips for formal writing:
Avoid contractions
Never use you/we/us
Avoid overuse of first person (I)
Avoid informal style and colloquial language
DOCUMENT EVERYTHING —if you look it up, you must document it
Make sure your works cited/bibliography has all the primary and secondary sources you have used
State the full title and author in the introductory paragraph
Develop a title personalized to your essay
Develop a coherent thesis/argument & reiterate this in your conclusion
For MLA style documentation help, review the Style Guide in Course Information, and also refer to Purdue OWL