GST110: Seminar in Writing I
Major Essay III: a warning from Brave New World
The assignment:
For this essay, you must:
1. Identify a single "message of warning" to society Huxley incorporated into Brave New World.
2. Using summary, paraphrase and quotation from Brave New World, persuade your reader that this is
indeed a message of warning which Huxley intended to convey to his society through his novel.
3. Extrapolating to today, argue whether or not Huxley's warning has already come to pass.
4. Tie all this up into a coherent and focused expository essay with a sufficiently narrow thesis. A few
examples of such thesis statements include:
• In Brave New World Huxley warns of the dangers of genetic engineering, and society still has
time to heed this warning because scientists today have not yet gone too far in genetically
engineering human babies.
• In Brave New World Huxley warns of the dangers of mood altering drugs, but society has failed
to heed the warning because antidepressants and other drugs are being used today, much like
Soma, to make people less of a "burden" on society.
• In Brave New World Huxley warns of the dangers of psychological conditioning, but today's
television political propaganda does just this.
These are just examples of sufficiently narrow thesis statements addressing one of Huxley's warning
messages. You are strongly encouraged to choose the warning message which is of most interest to you
personally.
Technical details:
• 5-6 pages in 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with 1-inch margins
• An interesting and informative essay title which reflects your essay's thesis statement
• This essay must reference at least four sources, including Brave New World. The other references may
be from essays read in class or from our text "Technology and the Future." All referenced sources must
be academically reputable. (Be very careful with Internet sources here--if you are not sure if it is
reputable, show it to me!) All citations must use the MLA style of reference.
• This essay is worth 20% of your overall course grade
Important dates:
• Wednesday, 5/7: Introduction of assignment, brainstorming, and initial drafting work
• Friday, 5/9: In class time for drafting. Please bring laptop.
• Monday, 5/12: Full draft of essay due in Blackboard by 9:00 am
• Monday, 5/12: Peer-review and workshop in class. Be sure to bring laptop, Brave New World, and A
Pocket Style Manual to class with you.
• Tuesday, 5/20: Final draft of essay due in Blackboard by 1:00 pm.
Please note that though late submissions will be accepted through Thursday, 5/22, all late submissions
will receive a substantial grade reduction. No submissions will be able to be accepted after 1:00 pm on
Thursday, 5/22, the last day of final exams.
The grading:
• In addition to process, this essay will be graded in four areas: thesis, organization, support and
elaboration, grammatical conventions, and style. See the handout entitled "What are the Features of
Effective Writing?" for more details on what excellence means in each of these categories.
