Time Travel Narratives | OTIS

Paper Resource

Page history last edited by JM Venturini 4 mos ago

Below are links and information you need for your paper:

Proper in text citations and a Works Cited page in the MLA style (follow link for more specific help) must accompany all written essay/paper work! (Sample MLA paper)

Works Cited Page:

Below are basic examples of how you document. Pay attention to the commas and the periods! Include as much information as you can.

Book --

Pickover, Clifford. "Preface". Time: A Traveler's Guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. xiii-xvii.

(author's name, last name first. "Chapter Title or Article Title". Title of Book. City where Published [closest to you geographically]: Publisher, copyright year. page numbers.)

Website --

Hunter, Joel. "Time Travel". The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. University of Kentucky. 2006. 05 May 2009. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/timetrav.htm>.

(author of article. Article title. Website title. Sponsor of website. date or year of web content post. date your looked at post. <http address>.)

Film --

Finding Neverland. Dir. Marc Foster. Perf. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Miramax, 2004.

(Title of Movie. Dir. name. Perf. only one or two names of leading cast. Production Company, year of release.)

TV --

"Episode Title." Title of Show. PBS. WGBH, Boston. episode air date.

Steps for In-Text Citation:

Three things must happen to ensure you are properly citing your sources within your essays:

Step 1: Introduce your quoted/paraphrased material to your reader with a statement including who and where. This helps to establish your sources credibility. The second time you use use information from this same source, you do not need to repeat your full introductory statement but give either the author's last name or title of piece.

Step 2: Use a verb of "saying" to introduce your quote or paraphrase such as says, notes, points out, reminds, considers, explains, etc . . .

Step 3: End your quote or paraphrase with a source tag. This is the information that is put in ( ) and is a clue that tells your reader where to look on your Works Cited page.

Example:

Clifford Pickover in his book, Time: A Traveler's Guide, uses a fictional professor and his able-bodied alien assistant to discuss the possibility of actual time travel, concluding "by realizing that the fundamental laws of physics appear simpler in higher dimensions, string theory can unite Einstein's theory of gravity with quantum theory in ten dimensions" (250).

Later on in the essay: Throughout his work, Pickover makes constant connections to Chopin and his musical compositions as a way to understand the forces of physics at play (Time: A Traveler's Guide).

RESEARCH:

In preparing your papers, you will need to engage in research to become more knowledgeable about your subject and to find supporting or explanatory evidence for your analysis and ideas. The internet can be a useful tool but like any tool, you need to know how to use it. For example, you may not be aware that Google "privileges commercial and popular sites over substantive ones" when giving you search results, something Rob Weir has coined “Googleygoop”^[1]. Did you know about Google Scholar, which provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles?

Throughout my lecture notes I have tried to include links to websites that hold valuable information that is accurate. Be skeptical and make sure the information is drawn from a credible source, someone or some group you have determined has the knowledge and expertise to write about that given topic.

Wordprocessing. All papers must be wordprocessed, spellchecked, double-spaced with one-inch margins. Always (and for all classes) place your name, class, and date in the upper right hand corner. In the event of a chaotic and/or catastrophic happening where I loose all work inexplicably, be sure to save all your papers on a disk or USB stick. When emailing your paper, it must be as a Word attachment. I will respond that I received it. If I do not, then I did not get it. I will return your paper with comments.

Outline Guide (includes all the basic elements to address in your outline)

Rubric (how you will be graded on your paper)

Targeting Your Errors --- This proofreading pre-test gives you baseline data for teaching yourself to proofread. These are also common mistakes made in student papers. Note the errors you missed and see if you do them in your papers. The aim of this exercise is to study each error in context, not as a separate grammar rule to be memorized.

Seek and Destroy the Enemy Clutter --- This proofreading exercise will help you to further develop your writing skills by asking you to isolate common instances of "clutter" found in writing.

Paper 1: Choose Either Prompt A or B

Instructions	Please address the following prompt. Your paper should be between 6-8 pages in length following word-processing guidelines stated in your syllabus. In addition, the paper must conform to MLA formatting standards including in-text citations and the inclusion of a Works Cited page. To address this prompt, you must formulate your own thesis.
Prompt A	Choose one time traveler from any of the novels, movies or TV episodes we have read and watched in class thus far. Conduct a thorough analysis of the time traveler’s character. What is the personal cost for his/her great abilities? What is their motivation for travel? Who do they travel with (if anyone) and how do they time travel? What is their relationship to time? What is the consequence of their actions? What view of time (past, present, future) does this time traveler offer? These questions are only a few questions you can potentially address in your paper. Ultimately, your analysis should lead you to answer the following: What is the time traveler’s obligation to time itself? Do they have the right to alter events? Be specific and use your source material, the books we read and what we watch as part of this class. The internet will provide you with a lot of additional information but remember, when using material from the internet you must establish the credibility of your sources. Joe Smore’s blog on this really cool guy is not a credible source. Who is Joe Smore and what makes him an authority? Anyone can contribute on Wikipedia – their not all right. Verify your information and credit where it came from.
Prompt B	Choose two movies in which time travel plays a key role as a plot device. Go here for a list of suggested Time Travel Movies. You can use one movie we are watching in this class and another movie we are not watching. I prefer that your two movies are not both ones we will watch in this class. Include a brief summary of both films. Compare and contrast the films use of time travel (how is time travel explained, how does it happen, what are the consequences etc . . . ?). Remember - most films are meant to entertain and not educate you about time travel. The purpose of this paper is to address the following: How does popular media portray time travel in film. Why do you think time travel is such an appealing subject? Time Travel is used as a plot device, why?(a plot device is an element introduced into a story solely to introduce, advance or resolve its plot which are the actions and/or events ordered in a sequence to produce a certain effect) Be specific! Do not assume we know what you are talking about. Use source material ---the books we read and what we watch as part of this class. The internet will provide you with a lot of additional information but remember, when using material from the internet you must establish the credibility of your sources, show how the information supports your own ideas. Always verify your information and credit where it came from.
Due Date	*Tuesday, June 30th by 3:00pm Standard Pacific Time*