passage significance
SENECA COLLEGE OF APPLIED ARTS & TECHNOLOGY LSO119: Science Fiction Passage Significance Assignment(s) Dr. Graham J. Murphy Total Value: 20% Grading System and Submission You are required to complete one or two Passage Significance Assignment submissions: the passages for Passage Significance #1 (see below) will focus on James Tiptree, Jr.’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” and the passages for Passage Significance #2 (see below) will focus on Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti. You have two ways of approaching this assignment: a) if you decide to submit Passage Significance #1 (“The Girl Who Was Plugged In”) or Passage Significance #2 (Binti)—i.e., either of two possibilities, but not both—then the full 20% for this component of the course will be based on that one submission. b) if you decide to submit Passage Significance #1 (“The Girl Who Was Plugged In”) and Passage Significance #2 (Binti)—i.e., both possibilities—then your grade for this component of the course will be the average of the two submissions (i.e., each will be worth 10%). The due dates for each of the Passage Significance options are firm; once the due date has passed, you cannot submit it on a later date. Similarly, you cannot do both and then ask later for only one to be counted. Once you submit the assignment, you cannot retract it from the overall grading component. Assignment Task The assignment isn’t about how you felt when you read the novel nor whether the events could happen in the real world; that is of no interest. Rather, the assignment is an analysis of how the passage directly connects to what you critically perceive as a theme of the whole story/novel, which means you should have reviewed the “What is a Theme?” Learning Module so you know what is meant by theme for degree-level studies. Remember: a degree-level understanding of theme, as per the “What is a Theme?” Learning Module, is a statement (about the subject of the story) the author (or director, or playwright, or singer, etc…) is making through the specific events of the narrative that can be extended beyond the story and applied to the real world in a direct and meaningful fashion. Review the “What is a Theme?” Learning Module for details and examples of what constitutes a degree-level approach to theme. In addition, your paper should be written in the 3rd person so be sure to avoid any 1st person subjective experiences (e.g., “I feel …” or “I believe …” etc. are subjective experiences). Be careful you do not simply re-tell the events leading up to the passage; rather, critically analyze—thesis; critical points to support argumentation; details/quotes from the passage and/or novel; conclusion—the passage and how the passage connects to a key theme the story is exploring on a larger scale. There are student exemplars posted to Blackboard, so look at those to get a better sense of the organizational structure and the kind of critical thinking/analysis you are expected to exhibit for this degree-level assignment. Finally, pay careful attention to the submission requirements posted at the end of this assignment. They are mandatory elements and you are expected to follow them! Deductions (of varying amounts) will take place for failing to meet the submission requirements. Choose one of the two quotes below from James Tiptree, Jr.’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” for your Passage Significance #1 analysis. a). Sitting up in bed is the darlingest girl child you've EVER seen. She quivers — porno for angels. She sticks both her little arms straight up, flips her hair, looks around full of sleepy pazazz. Then she can’t resist rubbing her hands down over her minibreasts and belly. Because, you see, it’s the god-awful P. Burke who is sitting there hugging her perfect girl-body, looking at you out of delighted eyes. OR b) “Don’t worry about a thing. You’ll have people behind you whose job it is to select the most worthy products for you to use. Your job is just to do as they say. They’ll show you what outfits to wear to parties, what suncars and viewers to buy and so on. That’s all you have to do.” Parties—clothes—suncars! Delphi’s pink mouth opens. In P. Burke’s starved seventeen-year-old head the ethics of product sponsorship float far away. “Now tell me in your own words what your job is, Delphi.” “Yes sir. I—I’m to go to parties and buy things and use them as they tell me, to help the people who work in factories.” Choose one of the two quotes below from Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti for your Passage Significance #1 analysis. a) “In your university, in one of its museums, placed on display like a piece of rare meat is the stinger of our chief,” it said. I wrinkled my face, but said nothing. “Our chief is . . .” It paused. “We know of the attack and mutilation of our chief, but we do not know how it got there. We do not care. We will land in Oomza Uni and take it back. So you see? We have purpose.” OR b) I frowned at it. Realizing something. It spoke like one of my brothers, Bena. I was born only three years after him yet we’d never been very close. He was angry and always speaking out about the way my people were maltreated by the Khoush majority despite the fact that they needed us and our astrolabes to survive. He was always calling them evil, though he’d never traveled to a Khoush country or known a Khoush. His anger was rightful, but all that he said was from what he didn’t truly know. – Binti (Nnedi Okorafor) Submission Requirements Below Submission Requirements Information Details Format: · Word length: a minimum of 750 words per analysis (copying the passage will not count towards the minimum word count) · Word processed, double-spaced, and composed in proper sentences and paragraph format that exhibit degree-level organization/writing · Set the alignment in your word processing program for left-hand justification only · Margins: 1 inch (2.5 centimetres) for top, bottom, left, and right · Title page: must include the name of the assignment, your name, your student number, submission date, and the word count File Type(s) · Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Microsoft Word (.doc; .docx) are the accepted formats for submission. Files that I cannot open will not be marked and you will not be given the chance to resubmit them; in addition, do not send files in PDF format, even if it is a popular format. Only .rtf, .doc., or.docx formats are acceptable. Late Penalty I typically do not accept late papers (review the syllabus for more details). MLA/APA Format · All material must follow either MLA or APA format for paraphrases, quotations, in-text citations, and Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA). · There is information available on Seneca’s Computer/Learning Commons website regarding MLA and APA formats as they pertain to quotations (and quotation marks) and/or paraphrasing, in-text citations, and a Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA). Make sure to use page numbers in the in-text citations for quotes and/or paraphrases. · You will not pass if you do not have a Works Cited (MLA) or Reference list (APA) and you will lose marks if your quotations are not referenced according to MLA or APA format. Back-up Option: If you are worried your assignment wasn’t sent properly through Blackboard, you can opt to send the identical assignment as a file attachment to the “Assignment Back-Up” folder on Blackboard; however, be advised this is purely a back-up option and papers not submitted via the SafeAssign system on Blackboard as the primary method of delivery will not be graded accordingly, unless prior permission has been arranged or a technical glitch has taken place. IMPORTANT: I will not accept papers that are not submitted correctly via Blackboard, so it is in your best interest to use the back-up as a fail-safe to ensure there have been no errors on your end attaching and sending the assignment file accordingly. In addition, review the “Technology is Not Your Friend: Plan Ahead!” section of the syllabus. Academic Integrity As per the MLA/APA format information posted above, all material must follow either MLA or APA format for paraphrases and quotations with in-text citations and corresponding entries in the Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) at the end of the document. There is information available on Seneca’s Computer/Learning Commons website regarding MLA format for paraphrases, quotes, in-text citations, and a Works Cited entry and APA format for paraphrases, quotes, in-text citations, and a References entry. Make sure to use page numbers in the in-text citations for quotes and/or paraphrases. Seneca College’s Academic Integrity policy is posted online and, among other definitions, explains plagiarism is “using another individual’s work (e.g., words, images, ideas, logic, phrases, signatures or computations) and presenting it as one’s own, without properly citing the source.” The Seneca College Library website has student-friendly information and tips about plagiarism and other possible violations of the College’s Academic Integrity policy. Finally, it is prohibited to reproduce and/or post a work that is not your own on third-party commercial websites including but not limited to Course Hero, OneNote, or StudyBlue. It is also prohibited to reproduce and/or post a work that is not your own or your own work with the intent to assist others in cheating on third-party commercial websites including but not limited to Course Hero, OneNote, or StudyBlue. This prohibition is in effect not only while you’re a student at Seneca College but after you graduate (i.e., if you post materials after you have graduated, the College can rescind your diploma or degree). Assignment Hints One of the goals of this assignment it to force you to conduct a narrowly focused analysis on a specific passage, a skill that is extremely useful in the “real” world where diving into the details of a subject is often much more valuable than a superficial overview of a subject. In other words, I want you to scrutinize and analyze the specifics of the passage and build outwards to address the larger issues—i.e., move from the microcosm (passage) and address how it unpacks a better understanding of the macrocosm (the story). Here are some hints to help you craft a degree-level submission: 1. Your focus is on the passage (the microcosm) for this analysis; therefore, this means you need to focus on the details of the passage and its content, such as the symbolism, the use of language in the passage, the importance of the passage in the broader plot, etc. You can certainly discuss other areas of the novels, but