In your reading for today, Ana Alvarado, Derek Brooks, and the other caregivers in their discussion forum find themselves behind the eight ball as they face a dilemma prompted by the Neuroblast digients’ obsolescence. In class, you will compose a short piece of writing, a minimum of two complete sentences, that explains the technological reason for the obsolescence and quotes the passage that addresses the specific action required for the Neuroblast digients to remain viable. Note that Chapter Eight, your reading for today, presents the dilemma, but the issue that prompts it surfaces earlier in the narrative.
In your writing, you will include a signal phrase that introduces the quotation, followed by the quotation and an MLA-style parenthetical citation.
Bonus Points
You may earn five extra points for your assignment if you continue your writing to include one additional sentence or more that addresses the difference between the Neuroblast digients’ predicament and the obsolescence of the inhabitants of Throwaway Town in Brian Aldiss’s “Supertoys in Other Seasons.” In your additional writing, include a signal phrase that introduces the quotation from Aldiss’s story, followed by the quotation and an MLA-style parenthetical citation.
Developments in Chapters Five, Six, and Seven
As a lead-in to your in-class writing, we will examine a couple of Monday’s collaborative responses to developments in Chapters Five, Six, and Seven. Among the aspects of the writing you will consider are these:
- Do the writers provide sufficient context for the quotation?
- Do the words that follow the quotation logically connect Chiang’s ideas to the writers’ own or to additional details in the novella?
- Do the writers adequately demonstrate their knowledge of the novella’s events?
Sample Annotated Bibliography Entries
Previous class notes include three annotated bibliography entries I drafted as models for you. The class notes for October 29 feature the entry for my starting-point source, Ted Chiang’s novella The Lifecycle of Software Objects; and yesterday’s class notes present drafts of my entries for two peer-reviewed articles. Tomorrow’s class notes will include a fourth entry: one for a student interview.
Next Up
Wordplay Day! To prepare for class, revisit the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Word Finder page, and review your journal notes and the blog posts devoted to Scrabble tips.
