Satire

The Satire
Task: Now that we have read and discussed “A Modest Proposal” and “How to Raise a Pimp” and have discussed the elements of a satire, your assignment is to write a satire. You may write about an issue of your own choosing, or you may choose an issue that is listed in the textbook on page 247. Also, you may want to read pages 247-248 in the textbook for “Helpful Hints” when writing your satire. Warning: This task is tougher than it appears to be. Remember, your job is to write a satire, not to be a comedian, although you may use humor.
Since you have written so much already this semester and since you are—or should be—writing a research paper, I will allow you to write a four paragraph satire. The first paragraph will be your introduction, and the final sentence of your introduction should be your stated claim. The body, or two supporting paragraphs, will be the two points that support your stated claim. Finally, your last paragraph will be your conclusion. Remember: do not—at any point during your satire—reveal your true feelings on the subject you are discussing. In other words, many times, students will begin writing a satire; however, in the final paragraph, they state something like, “Now I will tell you how I really feel about the subject matter.” Do not do that. The satire must remain a satire from beginning to end. Notice that at no point in “A Modest Proposal” or “How to Raise a Pimp” did the authors state their true feelings on the subjects they were discussing. Their true feelings were meant to be inferred by the readers.
As this may be your first attempt at writing a satire and as many of the examples I gave you were written in the first person, you may use pronouns that refer to yourself in this essay. In fact, you may write in the first person (I, me, my, mine, we, our), the second person (you, your, yours), or the third person (he, she, it, they, his, her, hers, their, theirs, him, them) in this essay. Just make sure that you keep your pronoun use consistent.
If you want to email me your introduction or stated claim for my review and comments, I will be happy to assist. In fact, I suggest you do so because writing a satire can be difficult for some.
Due Date: Please scroll to the bottom for the due date and time for this assignment.
Deal breakers: Deal breakers are items in an essay that I dislike immensely, and if I see one of them in your essay, the essay will automatically receive a zero. I will not even finish reading the essay. In this essay, there are three deal breakers to be aware of:
Plagiarism. If any part of your essay is plagiarized, you will receive a zero on this assignment.
If your essay does not have a claim, you will receive a zero on this assignment.
More than ten of one or a combination of the following: run-ons, comma-splices, or fragments. If you have any more than six of these types of errors in your essay, you will receive a zero on this assignment.

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