FINAL
PAPER
ASSIGNMENT
Strict
Minimum
Length:
6
pages
Due:
December
14th
at
Noon
Submit
via
Turn-it-in
on
Cougar
Courses
Instructions:
Write
an
analysis
of
the
novel
Oryx
and
Crake,
by
Margaret
Atwood
that
engages
with
some
of
our
themes
in
environmental
ethics.
You
are
required
to
cite
at
least
five
essays
of
your
choice
from
our
textbook
readings.
Use
specific
scenes,
quotations,
characters,
or
situations
from
the
novel
to
demonstrate
your
points.
Your
paper
should
have
a
clear
thesis,
position,
or
argument
and
this
should
be
clear
in
the
introduction.
Your
paper
should
address
all
of
the
following:
1.
Explain
what
is
wrong,
from
an
ethical
perspective,
with
uncritical
anthropocentrism.
What
might
a
biocentrist
say
about
Oryx
and
Crake?
2.
How
does
our
attitude
towards
nature
determine
our
behavior
and
ethical
obligation
(or
lack
thereof)
towards
the
natural
world?
Can
we
distinguish
between
what
is
natural
and
what
is
artificial?
3.
How
does
our
understanding
of
what
counts
as
life
figure
into
environmental
ethics?
How
do
we/should
we
treat
other
beings?
How
do
we/should
we
decide
what
is
alive
or
has
interests?
4.
What
is
the
role
of
science
and/or
technology
in
environmental
ethics?
Should
we
use
technologies
like
genetic
engineering
and
agricultural
biotechnology?
Under
what
circumstances?
Do
these
technologies
have
the
potential
to
improve
our
lives?
What
are
some
possible
dangers?
5.
Provide
conclusions
that
evaluate
Crakes
actions
in
the
book
from
an
environmental
ethics
perspective.
How
would
Crake
be
likely
to
defend
his
actions?
What
would
an
argument
against
Crakes
actions
entail?
Which
do
you
think
is
a
more
persuasive
argument,
and
why?
Be
sure
to
explain
arguments
both
for
and
against
Crake.
Grading
Rubric
(50
pts)
Use
of
relevant
citations
from
at
least
five
essays
from
the
textbook
(10
points
for
skillful
use
and
citation
of
each
essay)
(50
pts)
Thorough,
reflective
responses
to
each
of
the
five
essay
prompts
provided
(10
points
for
insightful
responses
that
address
all
parts
of
the
question)
Citations
from
the
Essays:
This
is
a
philosophy
paper,
which
means
that
you
must
use
relevant
citations
from
the
text
in
making
your
points.
Citations
may
be
either
parenthetical
or
footnotejust
be
consistent
in
which
style
you
use.
Your
bibliography
should
list
the
essays
from
the
textbook,
and
the
citations
should
include
the
authors
name
and
the
page
number.
For
example,
if
you
are
using
parenthetical
citations:
(Singer,
page
#).
Some
Advice
on
How
to
Plan
Your
Paper:
First,
formulate
the
basic
argument
or
position
that
you
want
to
defend.
Second,
choose
themes,
ideas,
characters,
scenes,
or
situations
from
the
novel
that
will
help
you
to
make
your
points.
Write
these
down
in
a
list
or
outline.
Third,
look
through
the
essays
you
chose
from
the
textbook,
and
find
quotations
from
these
essays
that
are
relevant
to
the
points
you
are
making.
Make
sure
these
quotations
are
not
taken
out
of
context!
They
should
nicely
fit
with
the
examples
you
are
using
from
the
novel.
Notes
Make
sure
that
your
essay
reads
as
a
consistent
whole
rather
than
a
list
of
answers
to
the
assignment
questions.
Papers
that
do
not
meet
the
minimum
length
will
lose
points.
10
pages
is
the
required
amount
of
writing
for
an
upper-division
humanities
course
for
CC
credit,
so
6
pages
is
already
giving
you
a
break.
You
are
strongly
encouraged
to
make
an
outline
before
writing
your
paperthis
will
ensure
organization
and
coherence.
Proofread
your
paper
for
clarity
and
grammatical
errors.
Consider
having
someone
else
read
the
paper
for
you;
it
is
often
hard
to
spot
our
own
errors.
Papers
that
do
not
cite
the
essays
from
the
textbook
will
not
receive
credit.
This
is
an
absolute
requirement
of
the
final
paper
assignment.
Avoid
plot
summary
of
the
novelassume
all
readers
are
familiar
with
the
novel.
You
will
lose
points
for
unnecessary
plot
summary.
Also
avoid
fillerdo
not
begin
your
paper
with
excessive
preamble
like
since
the
dawn
of
time,
people
have
considered
ethical
questions
or
the
like.
Long
citations
will
not
count
towards
paper
length!
If
you
are
including
any
long
citations
(which
is
fine),
block
quote
them
single-spaced
and
remember
that
they
do
not
count
towards
minimum
paper
length.
A
long
citation
is
a
citation
that
takes
up
more
than
two
or
three
lines
of
text.
Refrain
from
using
any
texts
besides
our
textbook
and
the
novel.
Plagiarism
will
not
be
tolerated.
Any
student
who
plagiarizes
on
any
class
assignment,
or
turns
in
any
assignment
that
is
not
his
or
her
original
work
will
fail
the
COURSE
and
be
reported
to
the
academic
authorities
as
required
by
university
policy.
If
you
are
unsure
about
what
constitutes
plagiarism,
consult
your
student
handbook
or
ask
me!