Nicole+Baxter-Green+RP+Post+5

At this point in time (much later than other people's point in time) I've divided my paper into two separate sections: the technological and the social. I've been looking to structure the content much like the book //Freakonomics// is structured, with sub-headings for the intro, the two body sections, and the conclusion, all united under the main title. the essay will have a more formal tone, though I do not intend for it to become argumentative at any time. This paper is not an argument piece, as there is nothing to argue against. It is merely an exploration on the various aspects of the present and near future which Star Trek have predicted. I may include speculation at some point, but it will all be based off of facts and trends that can be seen today.

I may encounter some problems in terms of balancing the essay, as so far there are more technological examples than social examples. However, the technological examples require much less explanation than the social, and so far I haven't had a problem with one section being significantly longer than the other. For example, if I wanted to point out something like the flip phone or the 3-D printer, which Star Trek has predicted, I could just find a picture of it and say "Look! Communicators are awfully similar to flip phones." or "Look! A replicator provided the exact same function as a 3-D printer!" and then link to the How It's Made article or the article on how NASA plans to use 3-D printers for food. The social section will just require a lot more musings on the current social trends and how they are exemplified in today's society, as well as how the social elements are portrayed in canon. Referencing the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" won't mean anything unless I explain that it was a racism metaphor, and mentioning the character Soren is pointless unless I explain how she represented a transgender individual. This will also be accompanied by how the particular aspect is treated in canon, mainly by the Enterprise crew, as they're the individuals we as a society are supposed to become. As I've seen it, the one-off-episode aliens that present the problems are often seen to be the antagonists, and thus have values that may represent modern problems, and which the main characters would not necessarily agree with.

Also, pictures. Pictures are already very helpful. I disagree with the common practice of disallowing pictures and graphs to be integrated into essays and research papers, because they're very useful in explaining or giving examples of points. So yes, I will be using a plethora of pictures.