Writing a Short Story Using Extrapolation

Introduction

Scientific breakthroughs seem to be a daily occurrence. Many of these breakthroughs are connected to biotechnology. With the information gained from the Human Genome Project, there are certainly many more breakthroughs in our future. One of the techniques science fiction writers use is extrapolation, or using what is currently possible to speculate what future outcomes may be. By having students extrapolate an idea individually, they may think deeper about the possibilities for biotechnology. This activity asks them to extrapolate something that is currently possible (or at least almost) in biotechnology and write a story about what it might lead to in the future. The teacher may want to review the basic elements of a short story with the students prior to having them write their own stories.

Objectives

The students will:

• demonstrate their understanding of the word extrapolation;
• create their own short story.

Procedure

• Review the examples of extrapolation from the short story "Revenants" by Judith Tarr.¹
• Brainstorm with the class possible uses of biotechnology. Some examples:
• prolongation of life
• food production
• "perfect" babies
• detection of genetic problems
• cure of genetic problems
• combining human and animal genes
• restoring extinct animals
• eliminating skin color differences
• Students choose one of these uses upon which to base their short story. The story should take one of the possibilities of biotechnology and extrapolate what may be possible in the year 2025. Mention to students that although many science fiction writers tend to focus on negative results in their speculation of the future, the students are free to focus on the positive results in their own.
• Teachers should set their own parameters for length of the short story and for the inclusion of basic short story elements, such as plot, character, theme, setting, and point of view.
• Set a due date for the first drafts of the short stories.
• Students peer edit and receive feedback in read-around groups.
• Using this information, students revise their short stories.
• Set a due date for the final draft.

Extensions

If time and resources permit, students can word-process their stories, illustrate them, and publish a class anthology of their short stories.

1. Tarr, Judith, "Revenants," in Dinosaur Fantastic edited by Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg, (Daw Books, Inc.: 1993), pp. 67-77.