“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

Length: 2 to 4 full pages. A full page has 22 lines.
After the title for your paper, there must be between 44 and 88 lines of text for the essay.
The preferred length will be from 2 1/2 pages to 3 1/2 pages, double-spaced.

You are encouraged to use any of your discussion comments, worksheet answers, and freewrites or prewriting already done for class when developing your essay.

Your essay should have an introduction paragraph with a strong identifiable thesis, at least three body paragraphs that each relate to and support the thesis, and a conclusion paragraph.

The thesis should be at the end of the introduction paragraph. The thesis should be bolded or underlined in the introduction paragraph.

Example thesis statements for this assignment and help may be viewed in Week 2 : Tips for Thesis Statements

In the body paragraphs, the first sentence/ topic sentence should be bolded or underlined.

The title for your essay should suggest your thesis.

Example: The Illusion of Freedom in “The Story of an Hour”

This essay should be written in the third person.

Do not use first person (I). Do not use second person (you).
Do not use “us,” “we,” or “our.”

Remember to use specific details from “The Story of an Hour” in your essay to support your analysis.
Do not summarize the story.

You should use a minimum of two quotations from your primary source “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. You may only use other material if it has been pre-approved by the professor.

Topic: In depth, you should analyze a major influence on a person’s identity and, at the same time, analyze “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. There needs to be a strong connection between this major influence and “The Story of an Hour.”

Suggestions for development: First, a major influence on a person’s identity must be chosen that can be found in “The Story of an Hour.” This major influence could be: age, sex, marriage, communication, culture, illusions, love, society, material possessions, trauma, freedom, historical time period, social position, family or some other influence that you have had approved by the professor. The major influence can be affected by other influences, but the focus should be stronger on the major influence throughout the essay. How does “The Story of an Hour” show and explore this major influence? For instance, one character could strongly show the positive and/or negative effect(s) of this influence. How does this major influence affect people? How has society been affected?

Remember: to earn a passing grade, your finished essay must follow MLA format, including being double-spaced, typewritten, (12pt Times New Roman font), and have two to four full pages with at least twenty-two lines on each page. One-inch margins must be used. The essay should have a minimum of five paragraphs.

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