Please read Isaac Asimov’s short story “Reason” p.160-176 and Ted Chiang’s short story “Exhalation” p.742-756 in The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction. Then choose one of these short stories for your initial post.

Please make sure you post the initial response by Tuesday of Week 2. Here are the instructions for the initial discussion post:

1) Write a CLAIM (in essence, a working thesis) in a sentence or two about what the the story reveals about the underlying social message of what it means to be human. In other words, how does the story shape/reflect social messages about the values, behaviors, or relationships of being human?

2) Write a PARAGRAPH in PIE (Point, Illustrate, Explain) format (see below).

First, find at least one passage of 1-4 sentences from the story that seems to support your claim. Then, state the specific arguable POINT you are making about how the passage(s) supports your claim in a sentence or two. Note that the point is not a mere rewording of the claim but may simply relate to one aspect of the claim or be a more specific point about the claim. Note also that the point should go beyond summary and is in essence, a mini-claim.

Second, introduce the passage in a sentence or two by setting up the context in which the passage appears. In other words, BEFORE you quote the passage(s), first make sure to explain who is speaking and about what. Tell your reader a bit about what is happening at this point in the story where the passage(s) appear.

Third, integrate and quote one or more brief passages of 1-4 sentences that ILLUSTRATE your point and cite its page number, using MLA format. Please see the attached handout for guidelines for integrating and quoting fiction. Conventions for Writing about Literature.doc

Fourth, EXPLAIN how the quoted passage helps the reader understand the point. In other words, make sure to connect the quoted passage back to the specific point that you have illustrated with a quoted passage in this paragraph. Your explanation should go beyond mere paraphrasing or plot summary.