ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by aliens. Be prepared for some... probing questions.

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The previous passage is an example of—what?

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We need to tap into our knowledge of literary genres to nail down the answer to this question.

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Choice (A) seems the easiest to eliminate, so we'll start there, because... well... we're

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big fans of "easy."

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"Nonfiction" describes writing that is based solely on facts. Humans and aliens don't live

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on the same planet--that we know of...

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Anyway, we're pretty sure most people would consider the passage Fiction, which takes

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(A) out of the running.

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Choice (D) isn't too hard to get rid of either. There's nothing all that comical about the

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passage, unless one thinks that discriminating against aliens is funny--which we don't recommend.

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Choice (C) is closer to the mark. The world of aliens and humans described in the passage

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might seem pretty fantastical.

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However, when we're talking literary genres, "Fantasy" is more about wizards and dragons

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than aliens and spaceships, and most of the time these things don't mix.

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(B) totally hits the mark. Science fiction novels are futuristic, usually involving technically

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advanced societies. Levitating mopeds, anyone?

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Aliens are often prominent in this genre as well. (B) is the correct answer.

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Remember kids -- no matter how nice an alien may seem and no matter how much candy he offers

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you, NEVER get inside his UFO.

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