Research Paper
Fiction to Nonfiction Connections
Essay #3 calls for a research-supported essay of at least four body paragraphs focussing on three of the short stories assigned in this class and engaging at least two nonfiction sources to enrich your analysis. At least one of the nonfiction sources must come from the HCC databases. For Essay #3, you are welcome and encouraged to build on the work that you did for Essay #2/Slide Show.
Directions/Requirements:
Choose the climate change hazard and story(ies) you will focus on(Flora disorder/changes, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem dysfunction which refers to the negative impact on biodiversity, natural resources caused by climate change and habitat destruction.) . Explain how the cli-fi stories engage with the hazard you have chosen. Diary of an Interesting Year” By Helen Simpson “The Tamarisk Hunter” by Paolo Bacigalupi, Mutant Stag at Horn Creek by Sarah k. Castle
Find and engage with at least two appropriate nonfiction sources (articles) to illuminate the authors’ portrayal of climate change and/or anthropogenic (human-caused) impacts and explain the scientific backbone of the fiction.
Nonfiction/Research: Show that you have intelligently and effectively engaged a minimum of two appropriate secondary sources. Feel free to also use any nonfiction sources I have provided for each story. To engage effectively means:
Establishing the credentials of each source you use in your essay
Demonstrating that you have used a variety of sources throughout your paper and you have not relied too heavily upon any single source
Successfully paraphrasing and summarizing borrowed material without plagiarizing or losing the meaning of the original
Using a sensible mixture of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing (at least three quotes/paraphrases/summaries from your nonfiction sourcs)
Literary Analysis: Include at least six well-chosen quotations from the short story(ies) to support your argument. Address some of the following questions:
What does the fictional treatment of this climate change hazard offer readers that the nonfiction sources do not?
What does the fiction writer add to the discussion of climate change and its impact, and how?
What literary tools and storytelling strategies does the fiction writer use to illustrate, amplify, and communicate the impact of climate change? Make meaningful use (don’t just drop in terms) of at least three literary terms (and put them in bold).
Documentation and Format: Correct MLA documentation mechanics and formatting: smooth and effective signal phrases, parenthetical references, works cited page.
Organization and focus: Strong thesis statement and topic sentences, paragraph unity.
Development: Introduction and conclusion paragraphs of at least seven sentences each; at least four body paragraphs, at least 10 sentences each.
Length: at least 4 (full) pages, maximum of 6. Not counting Works Cited page.
General formatting: TimesRoman font size 12, double spacing, page numbers, one-inch margins all around.
