Final Essay
Previously in this course, you looked at the predictions, hopes, and warnings presented
by science fiction literature about the future of humankind.
Then, you looked at what's actually happened related to one of the following topics: war,
personal technology/consumerism, the environment, robots/artificial intelligence, or
space travel/colonization.
In your final project, you'll compare and contrast the visions of the past with the reality of
the present. Use what you've learned about the topic you researched to draw your own
conclusion about how accurate, or inaccurate, the ideas presented in science fiction are
proving to be.
Your final essay will present and defend your opinion about whether the predictions of
those writers should be viewed. Should we listen to the warnings written into the
literature? Have writers suggested possibilities that should be explored?
Your final essay should have the following features:
1) MLA formatting and documentation, including attribution, parenthetical citation, and a
works cited page.
2) An introduction that gives the necessary background on your topic and delivers your
thesis statement.
3) A thesis statement that gives your opinion about how the predictions of those writers
should be viewed, given what's actually happened since those predictions were made.
4) Body sections that use a comparison/contrast structure, organized either by subject
or by category with a clear topic sentence at or near the beginning of each section.
5) Topic sentences that make comparison/contrast statements.
6) Specific facts and literature excerpts, from appropriate sources, that prove each claim
made in the paper.
7) A conclusion that restates your thesis and topic sentences, summarizing the case
made for your decision about accurate, or inaccurate, the literary predictions were.