The Nineteenth-Century Women's Dress Reform Movement: Part B

Part B: Essay

Directions:В  Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion.В  Use evidence from at least five documents in the body of the essay.В  Support your response with relevant facts, examples, and details.В  Include additional outside information.

Historical Context:

During the nineteenth century, many reformers wanted to change the way women dressed.В  Fashion dictated that women wear a long heavy skirt, several undergarments, a tight-laced, whale-boned corset, a tight-waisted blouse, delicate slippers, and an ornamental hat.В  Female reformers attempted to simplify women's clothing for a variety of reasons, and with mixed results.

Task:

Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States history, write an essay in which you:

  • Describe the new designs for women's dress

  • Explain the reasons female reformers wanted to change women's dress

  • Describe the reactions to this new dress
 

Guidelines:

In your essay, be sure to:

  • Address all aspects of the Task by accurately analyzing and interpreting at least five documents.

  • Incorporate information from the documents in the body of the essay.

  • Incorporate relevant outside information.

  • Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details.

  • Use a logical and clear plan of organization.

  • Introduce the theme by establishing a framework that is beyond a simple restatement of the Task or Historical Context and conclude with a summation of the theme.
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