Essay #4 Guidelines

Four your final essay, due finals week via email only, you are required to do an extensive re-write of essay 1. You will be expected to incorporate at least two more outside sources than your original ones and to make revisions to every single paragraph in the essay. Add in detail where it is lacking, correct grammar, strengthen your arguments, and re-work organization. You are required to re-write your thesis, making it clearer and stronger, unless I wrote that it was perfect on your first draft. If you would like to significantly alter your thesis and paper (shifting topics, for example), this is fine too, although it is not required. 

Your re-write should be 1-2 pages longer than your initial draft as well, bringing your final page count to 6-7 pages (or longer). 

Please utilize the notes I have made you for essay 1, on both your rough and final drafts. You can also visit me during office hours to discuss your work, should you need additional input.

Your paper will be reviewed alongside your initial paper, and if the changes made are not substantial, you will not receive a passing score. Should you have already gotten a high score on your paper initially, I recommend expanding your thesis and lengthening your paper, as well as adding in more research. 

Due: noon on friday 5/8, email only, .doc or .docx format only

Extra cred

Hi guys,

Tomorrow I am doing at reading at the Shannon Center at 1:30, and am on a panel there at 3.

If you want to come and do a little write up, you can receive extra credit (sorry, but if you aren't free then I can't offer make up extra cred).

Hope to see you there. I will be wearing a fabulous jacket.

Presentations Schedule

*Please note that your paper and creative component are due on the day on which you present.
*If you want to switch dates with another person, you may, but you need to both email me for approval at least three days before the start of the presentation week.

4/24
David R
Aaron S
Kristina
Aldore
Reggie

4/27
Hunter
Clement
Frankie
Lance
Aidan

4/29
Michael G
Jada
Aaron H
Max

4/31
Amanda
Samuel
Nicholas
Asia
Claire

Office Hours

If you want to meet with me for office hours, please simply email me to make an appt.

Hi guys,

I just updated the course schedule. Let me know if you have any questions.

Revision Option for Hunger Games Essay

If you would like to revise your in-class essay, you may do so. It will not replace your original score, but it can bring that score up one full letter grade.

Please revise according to the notes I made on your paper. Submit the revised version via email only no later than our last regular class meeting (please note that we do not meet during finals week).

Please also note that I will NOT be sending comments on these revision papers, only scores. You can ask questions about them, though, if you have them, after you receive your scores.

Additionally, I will not be grading them until after finals week, no matter when you send them, due to time constraints.

This is a great option for this of you who would like to bring your grade up!

Assignment #3 and Presentations

Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn't exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible. -Ray Bradbury

Look into the future 200 years. What do you see? What kind of world are we living in? Are we even living on planet Earth, or have we moved into outer space? Have we developed AI? Has disease been eradicated, or has there been even more disease as a result of pollution and warfare? What is the world like? What kind of beings have we become?

Create a sci-fi future "snapshot" to present to the class, based on what is going on in the world today. In other words, take actual events and scenarios from our current world, and project them into the future. You can use Black Mirror and The Hunger Games as a sort of guide, or think of what Octavia Butler did in Kindred with the past. 

Your snapshot can come in the form of a skit, a video, a short story, a posterboard, or an other (approved by me) form. You will have 8 minutes to present it to the class, and do plan to use the full 8 minutes (but no more).

In addition to presenting your future snapshot to the class, please write a 4 page essay detailing the events/situations in our world today that led you create your snapshot. Your snapshot should not be based on simply wish fulfillment, but you should have news articles and other resources bolstering your projection. Be prepared to share these with the class. For example, you could use current news articles on the melting of the polar ice caps to project a future where there are no polar ice caps at all. However, just because you are using real life events from today to project into the future, does not mean that you cannot get creative and cannot be hopeful about the future. It's up to you if you want to create a dystopian or a positive snapshot (or some mixture thereof). There are all kinds of things happening in the world today, large and small, that will make our future: don't be afraid to look in unusual places for inspiration.