Essay question: What does Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre tell us about the life of governesses in the early Victorian period? 

You want to:

* Get to the point quickly. You don’t want to give a history of the Victorian era, nor do you want to provide a Wikipedia entry on Charlotte Bronte or Jane Eyre (note the novel, not the governess; the novel goes in italics).

Things to Do Now that You Have a Thesis

1. Do an outline and/or a mindmap

2. Start writing your paper, keeping in mind that everything you say must support your overall

        argument

3. Once you have a draft, edit it for anything that doesn’t support your argument

•I recommend keeping a Post-It on your desk or computer that says ‘So What?’ That way when you’re reading through your draft anything that doesn’t support your thesis can be deleted. For instance, it’s true that Charlotte Bronte had two sisters and one brother, but that doesn’t matter in this case because it doesn’t support your thesis.

4. Read the second version aloud or have someone else read it for you. This will help you

        identify where you need to be clearer in what you’re saying and where you may have  

        missed grammatical errors.

5. Polish the essay off and submit. It’s never going to be perfect and that’s okay. As long as you