Final Essay (30%)

Students will write a an essay on any chosen work(s) of literary science fiction. Assignments should
be approximately 6-8 double-spaced pages and should be properly formatted with citations and
bibliography.
Your essay should analyze your chosen work using the concepts, frameworks, and analytical tools used
throughout the course to explore the ways in which your work (re)imagines and/or (re)invents gender
and/or sexuality. I encourage you to expand this analysis by using an intersectional approach that
considers questions of but not limited to of race, class, disability, and indigeneity.
Take the opportunity to connect your work not only to the larger concepts we have studied, but
importantly, the short stories, novels, and articles we have read throughout the semester. As this is a
formal essay, there is an expectation that you will conduct research and incorporate outside texts.
There is no 'perfect number' of references, but use your judgement to know where you have gaps that
need to be filled by outside sources. Ensure that you cite these sources properly (MLA style is
perferable). Use quotations and paraphrasing correctly.

Your critical reflection paper will be graded in terms of the quality of your analysis of your chosen
work. It will be important to balance summary with analysis - while it it simportant to provide your
reader with an understanding of what you are writing on, make sure the emphasis is on the analysis of
the work. Be selective with what you choose to focus your analytical energy on. If there are one or two
major concepts or moments that you feel are meaingful enough to sustain a sophisticated analysis,
focus on those moments, rather than every aspect of the text. Make the important connections, and
ensure that what you are writing consistently supports your thesis - whatever that may be!

Factors that will be taken into account in the grading of this essay include:

1. Does the essay succinctly address an appropriate question or topic related to "sex in science fiction"

2. Does your paper make important connections with course concepts and materials in a
way that demonstrates an understanding both of the course content as well as your
chosen work of science fiction
3. Does your paper engage with a core concept or idea that is explored in the course?

4. Is your essay supported by relevant evidence, such as examples from short stories or
novels, and outside sources?

5 Is the paper clear, readable, and well-written?

6 Is it suitably organized, with a clear thesis statement and introduction, an argument (body of
the paper that expands on the thesis statement), and conclusion?
7 Is the essay carefully proofread? Is careful attention paid to grammar, punctuation, spelling,
and conventions?