satirical essay prompts

Satire is a fantastic form of humor. It’s been done brilliantly down through the ages from Voltaire to Swift, but now it’s up to you to shine your light. But maybe you’ve been struggling. Maybe you can’t come up with a good idea or don’t know where to start. Fear now, we have you covered. Why not do an essay on one of these? Demographics: Who Needs Old People Anyway? Climate Change: Let’s Make Cars Out of Trees Obesity: Send the Fat to Famine Countries Government: Start Your Own! Sexuality: Sure Aren’t We All Bisexual? Demographics: Who Needs Old People Anyway? Why not tackle the “age-old” problem of what to do with the weaker members of our society? How about a satirical essay that suggests we get rid of the old-age pension and instead send all our elderly to an early grave with mass-euthanasia clinics. Hey, we’ll save a fortune on medical bills and you won’t have to worry about leaving grandma at the nursing home anymore. Win-win. Climate Change: Let’s Make Cars Out of Hemp With all this talk of changing weather patterns and how we contribute to the problem, let’s give the people a real solution. Hemp-Cars! Hemp is light, durable and, best of all, carbon positive! Ok, so you might not be able to “drive” the car, but so what? Who cares about getting to work when you’re saving the planet, right? Obesity: Send the Fat to Famine Countries There are now more people overweight than there are underweight. More and more of us are turning to fad diets and liposuction. But what do we do with all that spare fat lying around? There’s really only so much soap we can use as a society. How about we send the fat to famine stricken countries? Surely they need it the most right? Let them feast on our fat. They’ll thank us for it. Sexuality: Sure Aren’t We All Bisexual? All this talk of who’s gay and what’s transgender and why do they all want to get married. But we’re missing the.
Young readers are often introduced to satire for the first time with the short story, “A Modest Proposal”. Written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift of the UK, the story pokes fun at the tumultuous relationship of the British & Irish of the early 18th century. Rather than regurgitating events of the time, Swift creates a narrative in which the British suggest the Irish eat their children, reducing the Irish population. When first read, some may take the tale literally, but reading this tale through a satirical lens, we can better understand how Swift’s satire was successful into modern day. Swift’s clear topic of interest and purposeful language are the major factors for his success. Choose Your Topic Swift began his satirical work with a purpose, belittling the Irish. Rather than being outright crass, he opted to create a satirical piece. When you have been assigned the task of creating a satirical work of writing be sure to carefully consider your topic, and the room for satire it allows. Your satirical topic must have room for humor and sarcasm, not all topics are conducive to this style of writing. For instance, writing an essay about school uniforms would likely not make for the easiest or most successful satirical work. Some more successful satirical topics are historical occurrences or politics, which have plenty of room for creative stories, references, analogies and allusions—keys to engaging satire. Write with Clear Tone When writing satire word choice and tone are incredibly important. Satirical writing creates its tone with purposeful language and subtle choices. In other words, this would not be the appropriate time to whip out your thesaurus and arbitrarily select synonyms for your vocab choices. Make sure to select words with purpose, using vocabulary choices you not only know the definition of, but also have a full knowledge of its use and tone. A good.
Buy The AP English Literature CliffsNotes Book Here and the AP English Language CliffsNotes Book Here! AP language and literature exams sometimes include prompts that are from satiric and/or comedic works. Students who are not practiced in writing about satire and recognizing the devices of the satirist may be at a disadvantage over those who are comfortable with such tools. The subtlety and nuances of satire can sometimes go unnoticed; some students may find it hard to know how to analyze the rhetorical strategies that satirists use. Although, of course, satirists can employ all of the devices of rhetoric, quite often they make use of the following: Caricature — A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect. Sometimes caricature can be so exaggerated that it becomes a grotesque imitation or misrepresentation. Synonymous words include burlesque, parody, travesty, lampoon. Hyperbole — A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperboles sometimes have a comic effect; however, a serious effect is also possible. Hyperbole often produces irony at the same time. Understatement — The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous and emphatic. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. Irony — The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant; the difference between what appears to be and what actually is true. Irony is used for many reasons, but frequently, it's used to create poignancy or humor. Wit — In modern usage, wit is intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. A witty statement is humorous, while suggesting the speaker's verbal power in creating ingenious and perceptive remarks. Wit.
School Dress Codes. One of the most enforced school policies of all time. Everyone has an opinion about what is too short, what is too long, what is too low, what is too high, what is too tight, and what is too loose. According to schools, middle school girls are all indecent. Because of this, there are very specific rules about what us girls can and cannot wear. “Skirts, dresses and shorts cannot be more than 2 inches above the knee.” So we can only wear long shorts? Is it just me or does that sound like an oxymoron? Wouldn’t long shorts be pants? “All pants and shorts must be worn on the waist.” Would I be punished for wearing my pants above my waist? What if I want to wear my pants around my chest? That’s a nerd style. Nerds are usually pretty smart. Are the schools now frowning upon smart people doing well in school? What about Steve Erkel? Would he be punished for wearing his pants too high? “All tops should cover the top of shoulders and cover the entire body.” It’s a good thing they don’t allow us to show our shoulders. Shoulder showing could really get crazy. I mean, us kids get so turned on by shoulders, who knows what would happen if we all walked around with bare shoulders all day. Also, since when does a shirt cover your entire body? I have never seen a head to toe shirt, unless you include burkas and those ghost Halloween costumes made from cheap sheets. I’ve been violating the dress code for two years, wearing shirts that only cover my torso, without even knowing it. How silly of me! I should have realized our public schools run by the United States government that believes in Separation of Church and State would want us to wear burkas to school. What about that rule stating no head coverings are permitted in school excluding religious reasons? A burka would cover my head and I’m not Muslim. How can I wear a shirt that covers my whole body, while not.