Compare And Contrasting AI

by

Humanities

For your third essay, you will be writing a compare and contrast analysis of Descender & a media interpretation of an AI. Choose one of the essay below. (The movie “Ex Machina” & The book “Descender”)

Topic 1: Compare and Contrast Tim-21 with another media interpretation of AI e.g. Ava in Ex Machina or Wall-E

Topic 2: Compare and Contrast a symbol in Descender with a symbol in Ex Machina

Topic 3: Pick a villain in Descender and compare/contrast them against another monster in Ex Machina

Topic 4: Create your own compare and contrast topic about Descender and Ex Machina

Task Overview:

  • Make notes about the signs and symbols in both texts & whether those signs and symbols change for different people/Robots in the movie
  • Develop a hypothesis about your topic
  • Use research and visuals from the film to back up your thesis
    • If you are using any film outside of the one shown in class, you will need to get approval.

PAPER FORMAT:

Essay Requirements:

Ø 1000-1200 words (about 3.5-5.5 pages Double Spaced).

Ø Have: Name, Class, Date, Assignment, and Topic in upper left hand corner.

Ø A title that is not GENERIC

Ø All drafts, pre-writing, and outline must be turned in with the final copy of the essay.

Ø Typed

Ø A works cited is required for all outside research & Sources

Ø Use The Easy Writer to help with citations

1. An introduction that provides context on the topic, eases the reader into your essay, and has a “hook” that grabs people’s attention

2. A thesis statement or controlling idea that takes a stand

3. Transitional topic sentences that are clear, provocative, and develop your thesis and provide unity in your essay

4. Body paragraphs that help prove your argument

5. Plenty of support from the text: Remember you must have a minimum of 6 quotes from the story you choose

6. (PARAPHRASING DOES NOT COUNT AS A QUOTE)

7. For each quote, please use the direct model discussed in-class

8. Some analysis of all your supporting examples

9. A conclusion that offers some ideas about what can be done about the situation

10. Strong sentences that are both grammatically correct and sophisticated

11. Use proper MLA formatting, in-text citations, and Works Cited entries. NOT having proper MLA citations will result in a 0/100 on the assignment.

12. Write in 3rd person NOT first person.

Project Requirements and Breakdown

Tim-21

A Successful Essay Will Have

Introduction:

* A title specific to the topic

* An attention getter

* Background on the topic (please make it clear which prompt you are answering)

* End with your thesis

* A clearly stated thesis (your opinion – your 1-2 sentence response to the essay prompt) which speaks to the “so what” of the issue and is not merely a list plan of development.

Body:

* Topic sentence that is related to the thesis

* Supporting evidence

* Quotes from the text (Remember to cite the quotes)

* Consideration of and rebuttal against the other side of the topic

Conclusion:

* DO NOT bring up a new topic

* A suggestion of the consequences of your position for society, readers, individuals, what you want to happen in the future, or how the author might feel about your position, etc.

Works Cited Page

  • That cites all sources using current MLA guidelines.

MLA WORKS CITED EXAMPLES:

Book: Single Author

Author. Title. Place: Publisher, Date. Medium

Example:

Bolling, Linda. My Life with My Best Friend in Colorado. New York: Time-Life, 2008. Print.

Evaluation Criteria for Your Essay:

I will use the following criteria to evaluate your position paper:

  1. Have you engaged the readers’ interest at the beginning and throughout the paper?
  2. Have you chosen an arguable position and defined it carefully (e.g. placing the issue in its historical or cultural context, citing specific instances to make the issue seem less abstract, or establishing or redefining the terms of the debate)?
  3. Have you organized your paper into an introduction, body (containing several paragraphs), and conclusion?
  4. Have you included at the end of the introduction a thesis statement that asserts a clear, unequivocal position on the issue you have chosen and, possibly, forecasts the stages of the argument, identifying the main reason or reasons that you will develop and support in the essay?
  5. Have you given reasons why readers should take your position seriously?
  6. Have you organized your reasons into a logical order (e.g. placing the strongest reason last and the second-strongest reason first, with the other reasons in the middle)?
  7. Have you supported each reason with examples, facts, analogies, statistics, anecdotes, or quotes from
  8. authorities? Remember: you need 5 quotes from the readings.
  9. Have you anticipated readers’ questions and their positions on an issue, counterarguing as needed?
  10. Have you signaled explicitly the move from one topic to the next using forecasting statements, transitions, topic sentences, rhetorical questions, and/or summaries?
  11. Have you cited at least 5 quotes in your essay, using MLA in-text (parenthetical) citation strategies correctly?
  12. Have you integrated the sources into your essay, using signal phrases to introduce long quotations or incorporating shorter quotations into the sentences smoothly?
  13. Have you included an MLA Works Cited at the end of your essay?
  14. Are the sentences clear and correct?
  15. Is the essay between 1000-1200 words. Longer papers will be returned for editing.