Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

4-5 pages (land on page five)
Write the entire essay in third person. Write the body paragraphs (about the story) in the present tense.
Have a strong, arguable thesis
Have a topic sentence for body paragraphs
Use quotes from the primary text to prove your thesis
Use quotes from the secondary sources (3) as well
Incorporate the textual quotes into your sentence; for example
You need a works cited page for this essay.
Double-space, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman
MLA format
Word document or HTML

Primary Source(s)

Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.”  Web. ELearning 30 June 2020.

Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Web ELearning 30 June 2020.

Secondary Sources

Bendel-Simso, Mary M. “Twelve Good Men or Two Good Women: Concepts of Law and Justice in Susan Glaspell’s ‘A Jury of Her Peers.’” Studies in Short Fiction 36.3 (1999) 291+. Web. Literature    Resource Center. 30 June 2020.

Holstein, Suzy Clarkson. “Silent justice in a different key: Glaspell's Trifles." The Midwest Quarterly 44.3 (2003): 282+. Web. Literature Resource Center. 30 June 2020.

Marsh, Kelly A. “Dead Husbands and Other Girls’ Stuff: The Trifles in Legally Blonde.” Literature Film Quarterly 33.3 (2005): 201-206. Web. EBSCO. 30 June 2020.

Glaspell topics (choose one):

How does the setting contribute to the overall theme of the play? Include symbols that may be part of the setting.

The title of the play suggests the motive for the murder. How do the female characters use their attention to trifles to solve the mystery? Include in your essay their reason for keeping the information to themselves.

How do the men’s attitudes toward women and trifles affect their inability to discover the motive?


You may choose your own topic, but make sure you have a strong thesis that you can prove with textual evidence.


Due date July 26 by midnight.