ENG 239: Slipstream Fiction
Essay #1 [100 Points]
Write a single essay of 3-4 pages [900-1,200 words] in which you present your personal
definition of slipstream fiction drawing on both the essays and introductions that we have
read and on the stories that we have discussed in the first three weeks of classes. You must
use a size 12 font, preferably Cambria or Times New Roman, and your typed essay must be
double-spaced with one-inch margins set for all four sides of the page. When you present
quotations from the essays and stories, use the standard MLA documentation procedures
illustrated in class and always integrate the quotations; that is, at no point in your essay
should you stop your writing and present a quote that is not introduced by some of your
own language.
For example: In his essay, “Slipstream,” Bruce Sterling argues that slipstream “is the kind of
writing that makes you feel strange” [3].
Whenever you quote a story or essay, follow this format. Always establish the context for
the quote with some of your own language, and always supply the page number in
parentheses after the quotation, following the punctuation procedure provided in the
above example.
To simplify the process somewhat, I am providing the general pattern that your essay
should take:
1. Your opening paragraph should state your purpose to define the developing genre,
slipstream, and then write a definition of slipstream supported by ideas and
comments presented by our authors in “Slipstream,” “The New Weird,” and the
introductions to our two anthologies. Of course, you cannot present all of the
arguments found in these four texts, so it is a good idea to identify common features
of the essays while arguing that despite the differences in the presentations these
writers seem to have certain ideas in common as they attempt to define this
developing genre. You are not required to directly comment on and quote all four
essays, but you must evidence your familiarity with at least two of them.
2. Then transition to a second paragraph in which you state that you accept some of
the principles described by the slipstream authors, but that you are developing your
own understanding based both on their comments and the stories that you have
encountered in the course. Present you personal definition of slipstream by the end
of your second paragraph and transition to a defense of your understanding of
slipstream through discussion of at least two or three of the assigned stories.
3. You cannot, of course, discuss two, three, or more stories in their entirety in your
remaining paragraphs, so you should organize each of the following paragraphs by
features of slipstream and not by detailed address to any single story. In other
words, your definition of slipstream should break down into a list of perhaps three
features of the genre. Then each of the following three paragraphs should emphasize
one of those features and provide examples of the appearance of those features in a
couple of stories. Over the course of the body of your essay, you should refer to
at least two or three of the assigned stories.
Your final paragraph should be a brief conclusion.
So. Your essay should include a minimum of six paragraphs following this format:
1. An introduction of your purpose and presentation of the professional writers’
definition of slipstream as you see it.
2. A presentation of how you are coming to understand slipstream including at least
three elements common to the genre.
3. A body paragraph discussing one element of slipstream and providing examples
from two stories.
4. A second body paragraph discussing your second element and providing examples
from two stories.
5. A third body paragraph discussing your third element and providing examples from
two stories.
6. A brief conclusion.
As I think you can see, it will be difficult to complete this project in fewer than three pages.
I will accept slightly longer essays but do not want you to go beyond your fourth page. This,
of course, requires that you write a first draft of your essay, let it sit for a day, then go back
and revise your presentation, correcting errors and refining your language to reduce the
essay’s length.
DUE DATE: The essay must be submitted in Microsoft Word by e-mail attachment no later
than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, February 10.
If you submit your essay early, you will receive your evaluated essay early because I will
evaluate and return them in the order in which they have been received.