Thesis:
Louisa May Alcott, best known for writing Little Women, resented being classified as an author of juvenilia because she felt it diminished her status among her contemporaries and her audience.
I. Topic Sentence: Alcott had an impressive literary pedigree.
A. Grew up among the great Transcendentalists.
B. Emerson was her mentor.
C. Male contemporaries considered more serious.
II. Topic sentence: Unbeknownst to most of her fans, Alcott wrote prolifically.
A. She was known to write for days.
B. She published lots of work under pseudonyms.
C. She never felt financially secure and wrote for money.
III. Topic Sentence: Alcott was thought to have suffered from bipolar disorder.
A. Periods of manic activity for weeks at a time.
B. Other times bed-ridden for months with fatigue.
C. Attributed her health issues to mercury exposure.
IV. Topic Sentence: Her writings did not get the same recognition of those by male contemporaries.
A. In Hospital Sketches, she was first to report hospital conditions during The Civil War.
B. Walt Whitman gained much acclaim for similar material.
C. Her works made a lot more money than Melville's or Bryant's.
Which topic sentence and arguments support the thesis statement the LEAST.
A) Alcott had an impressive literary pedigree.
B) Unbeknownst to most of her fans, Alcott wrote prolifically.
C) Alcott was thought to have suffered from bipolar disorder.
D) Her writings did not get the same recognition of those by male contemporaries.
5 answers