an infographic of the second most assigned women novelists in American colleges
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These are the Most Assigned Novels by Women in U.S. Colleges

In an analysis of 300,000 English Literature syllabi, these are the novels by women authors that were the most commonly assigned.

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Less than a third of assigned reading in U.S. colleges is written by a woman. But who are the women authors that are being assigned? WordTips analyzed 300,000 English Literature syllabi in U.S. colleges using OpenSyllabus.org to see, and these are the results.

a graphic of the top 50 most assigned novels by women in American colleges, beginning with Frankenstein, Her Eyes Were Watching God, Beloved, Jane Eyre, and The Awakening

Most Assigned Novels by Women in American Colleges

  1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  2. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  3. Beloved by Toni Morrison
  4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  5. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

While Frankenstein took the top spot on the list, WordTips also analyzed the most assigned female authors, which causes authors with a larger body of work — like Virginia Woolf and Toni Morrison — to take higher spots on the list.

a graphic of the top 50 most assigned women novelists in American colleges, beginning with Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Perkins

Most Assigned Women Novelists In American Colleges

  1. Virginia Woolf
  2. Toni Morrison
  3. Mary Shelley
  4. Jane Austen
  5. Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Most states agreed on Frankenstein as their most-assigned novel written by a woman, but the second most common pick shows a little more variety, as the graphic below demonstrates.

a graphic of the second most assigned novel by a woman in each state

Check out the full analysis at WordTips, including the difference between books assigned in public colleges and Ivy League schools.

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