This project begins with exploratory research of Internet sources and proceeds to a restriction of the class topic, which is quite broad and allows for many individual angles and approaches.

That class "topos" is evolution of style and/or character and/or characterization in at least one but no more than three stories from Part I of The Callahan Chronicals and at least one but no more than three stories from Part II.  You may draw from no more than three stories of Part III also, but this is optional and not required.  Deal with a total of no more than six stories in the paper your research leads to.

Take the following as your audience:   Computer competent fans of Spider Robinson who have read and reread the stories you discuss (but not necessarily participated in Crosstime Saloon Role Playing in cyberspace or chat on the subject of Robinson's writings or virtual worlds) and who are familiar with at least ten Internet Sources on Robinson (but perhaps a completely different ten than you know).

Length/Format:  Four to five typed, double-spaced pages (count not including the required separate Works Cited page), with standard one-inch margins throughout.  A title page is not required.  Title optional.  Put your last name followed by the page number in the upper left-hand corner of every page (see sample papers, pp. 616-640, for format examples).
 

Alright, here are the Steps:

1.    Find ten to twenty Internet sources that may prove useful to consideration of your topic choice. Prepare an annotated bibliography, MLA ACW extension style, briefly summarizing each site and succinctly evaluating  its potential to your particular project.  Submit your typed, double-spaced select annotated bibliography of these Internet sources for study of Spider Robinson's stories by week five. The annotation should immediately follow the period (after two spaces) at the end of each individal Internet source bibliography entry.  The pages to consult in the Bedford Handbook are 592, 605, 611-613.  For review of in text citation see pp. 569-581.

2.  Write down a working thesis sentence and basic body outline ( a minimum of one complete sentence for each major section topic).  Test these out by writing at least the first two paragraphs of the first, critical context, locus of interest section of your argument, including quotes of at least three of your ten Internet sources, and three quotes from the stories.  Email these to me by week six.

3. Send your first full draft of the entire paper by the end of week seven.  You mail email draft questions at anytime, incorporated in email messages.  Send the completed first full draft as an email file attachment as before.

4.  Submit finished version by week eight.

By then, or perhaps before that, you will want to buy and start reading the additional novel, which may be Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, or Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness (that last one will lead you down a specially creative path--you argue for how the movie that hasn't been done should be done--a wild and different [if not a little crazy!] option I am sure). Brian Aldiss's Frankenstein Unbound is available only from Amazon.com and is mainly for use along with the Roger Corman movie adaptation of Aldiss's book (of the same name).  For Project #3, some of you may also consider using the film Frankenstein Unbound along with the book by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (but not with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).  There is only one video store I know of that has Frankenstein Unbound, the Blockbuster on Federal Hwy., west side, just south of Hillsboro.