Hi, I have finished the paper and my professor said it is written well but I made a mistake. I messed up because the assignment was supposed to be written on 2 different works rather than 3. So one of the three works (Hayles, Baudrillard, or Turing) would need to be removed and the analysis extended for the remaining 2 so that it is still close to the 3000 word count. So 5 pages or so for each passage when 3000 words is roughly 10 pages. I attached the instructions so that you know what the assignment is all about along with the readings.
Instructions
Write a final essay between Times New Roman Size 12 Font Double Spaced MLA Format 3000-3500 words on the close reading exercise option in the syllabus I attached. Write the essay exactly as the PDF states and carefully read the parameters and requirements. Carefully read the syllabus PDF as well, since you will have to write your paper on one of the readings/films on the syllabus. Since the class is a Virtual Realities class, the paper needs to explore the idea of virtuality/reality in regard to your choice of material.
Please write the essay on the third option which is the close reading exercise 🙂
- Close reading exercise: 1) Pick a single passage or scene from any text/film we’ve read/watched thus far. The passage/scene should be one that contains a puzzle for you. There should be something in it that doesn’t seem easily reconcilable with the arguments or perspectives developed at other points in the text. Something that seems to require explanation. 2) Your first paragraph should contain a very brief statement of the question the passage has led you to pose and an equally brief statement of why you think this question is important to an understanding of the work. 3) For the next 5 or so pages, analyze the passage/scene in terms of your question. You’re looking to solve your puzzle, or at least to circumscribe the space within which a possible solution would have to lie. (If you’ve picked a difficult passage/scene and posed a tough enough question, you may well find that you can’t actually “solve” the problem you’ve set for yourself. That’s fine. Your grade will in no way depend on whether or not you’ve conclusively answered the question.)
4) Feel free to quote from or make references to other places in the text/film, to the extent that you need these other passages in order to make your point. Do try, though, not to stray too far from the analysis of the passage in question.
5) Make as few general, unsupported, non-interpretive claims as humanly possible. (Ideally: zero.)
6) There is no need to draw on secondary literature, although you can do so if you like. If you do, make sure to cite it according to one of the usual citational conventions (MLA, Chicago, …).
7) Do this twice, with passages/scenes from two different works.