The Final Paper is a full-length (3-5 pages) mini-research paper and is worth up to 100 points. Papers shorter than three full pages (four counting the Works Cited page) will not be accepted. At least four full pages (five counting the Works Cited page) are required if you are trying for the "B" or "A."

Ch-ch-ch-changes - David Bowie

Paper 4, like Paper 3, is a research paper.

You will not need as many sources as Paper 3, but you do need to quote and document those sources. Just be sure that at least 1/2 of the paper is your argument, meaning that about 1/2 will be quoted/documented from your sources.

As with Papers 2 and 3, a complete, MLA-format Works Cited page is required.

I do not require you to turn in an outline or the annotated sources for this assignment, but if it is missing that Works Cited page, the paper will not be accepted.

Actual numbers of sources required are listed under each topic.

One of the roles of futurists (those who explore possible/likely futures) and science-fiction writers is to speculate (based on past and current trends) on the nature of the future. For Paper 4 choose one of the topic areas below (Note: there are choices within each major topic). All topics require you to do research (see individual topics for exact requirements), and each must have an MLA-format Works Cited page.


  1. Just how believable is the future that Margaret Atwood imagines in The Handmaid's Tale? What material is actually based on the past and the present? Reviewing the Historical Notes will help you with this question.

    Your task is to write a research paper in which you analyze The Handmaid's Tale . For this analysis focus on one narrow issue developed in the novel that is based a on a real-life issue. Describe the situation in the novel (be sure to quote passages and use standard MLA format); compare what's happening in the book to what you discover in your research sources. You might, for example, concentrate on the forbidding of reading which is shown throughout the book. Explain why the "powers" of Gilead feel reading is a threat. You could compare this to the forbidding of reading or access to internet information for the general population in certain countries.

    There are many other topics that will work with this assignment:

    • religion as a tool that has been used to control people (this subject might have you look at a specific cult, for example)

    • infertility related to unchecked toxic wastes (the references in the novel are oblique, but you could easily tie this to real-world chemical spills, radiation contamination, etc.)

    • television as a propaganda tool or, really, any propaganda used in a time of war (this compares neatly to the scenes where Offred is watching television or is being brainwashed)

    • the lack of freedom for women in a specific (you need to name the time/place) monotheocracy

    • political or religious leaders guilty of hypocrisy

    Do not limit your thinking or your imagination. There are lots of issues in Atwood's novel. Do make sure you have a narrow, specific topic. "Women's rights" is far too huge a topic and would demand you write a very long book. "Women losing their careers during a political takeover in _______," for example, is a much more manageable subject.

    For this short research paper you will need to use a minimum of three sources-- one will be The Handmaid's Tale (you must find examples of your subject in the book which you quote and document); the other two (or more) will be recent (within the past five years) secondary sources (newspaper, magazine, textbook, internet, etc.) which illustrate that the issue you are drawing from the novel is relevant, is a significant current real life issue. You must draw evidence (documented quotations) from all of the three or more (including Atwood's novel) sources listed on your Works Cited page. You will also need to turn in your annotated sources (again, these may be scanned or downloaded or transcripted from non-print sources, then saved as .doc or .rtf files and submitted that way).

    Why must the sources be so current? First, the goal is to see the relevance of the book to the world you live in (not some bygone days), but also because there are many "for sale" essays on these topics on the internet; most use older sources. There is a huge risk of plagiarism here, and I do not want any of you to fail this assignment. The fact that you must turn in actual copies of your sources with your notes on them will also make sure this doesn't happen.


  2. Do some research on Google Projects (there are various sites that you can easily search with specifics about many key projects funded, or at least encouraged, by Google. You will find the much-talked-about driverless cars and recently-re-considered broadcast glasses, of course, but there are literally thousands of different projects (small and large-scale) dealing with technology, ecology, social interaction, warfare, the arts, and so on.

    By the way, this last Christmas I got all of my nieces and nephews (and a few other people) Google Cardboard!

    Then write a paper on one of the following:

    • Choose ONE Google Project and explain why Google should, or should not, continue to fund and develop it. This should not just be a personal opinion (such as, "I don't believe in warfare"). Instead, consider the actual implications of the project; imagine (and logically describe) what one of the positive or negative consequences might be and the impact it might have (plus or minus). Here is one instance (you may NOT use this particular example; it is just to show you the kind of thing you want to do):

      • If the driverless car is successfully developed, one of the logical applications would be to eliminate the need for drivers of long-haul trucks. This would potentially eliminate accidents and the need for trucks to be out of service as drivers rest, but it would also eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs. The effect to the economy might be...

        Your paper will have at least one research source (explaining the Google project and it's goal), and at least one more source exploring the need, the feasability (is the science available?), the cost(s), etc. I actually strongly recommend you have more than two sources; after all, one or two sources are not especially satisfying, and having just the project source and one other will require you to do a lot of thinking and speculating and explaining).

    • Or, instead, propose a Google Project of your own, and explain why Google should fund and develop it. Again, you will want to research (find at least two credible sources) the problem/need it fulfills and speculate on just what the scope of the change might be if the project were developed. You will want to balance risks/costs with potential rewards in your pitch.

    Whichever approach you take for this topic (evaluate an existing Google Project or propose your own), include a Works Cited page of either the Google project you are researching or of the problem your own project will address. Be sure to submit annotated (marked-up, showing your notes) copies (scanned print sources, downloaded and saved online sources, transcripts you write of any non-print sources) that you use.