Satire Writing Assignment



Satire Writing Assignment

Date Assigned: 23 April 2012

Date Due: 7 May 2012

You are a modern-day Jonathan Swift, disgusted with a problem in the world that you want others to not only recognize but also to fix. You know well enough that you cannot get people’s attention without humor, shock, and awe. You also know that your presentation of the problem’s background will help your audience best understand your overall (albeit subtle) satirical message.

Your task is below, should you choose you accept it (hint: you have no choice).

1. Identify a problem in society that you want solved (ex: bullying in schools, care of the elderly, traffic laws….). Keep in mind that this problem should be narrow in scope so that you don’t research/write forever. (Your topic must be approved by 24 April 2012.)

2. Research the background of that problem, answering the following questions and any others that you come across:

- What is the problem?

- Who is involved?

- Where is this problem prevalent?

- What are basic statistics/data on this problem?

- Is there anything in place to solve it? Is it effective?

3. Write your findings in outline form. You must cite in APA after each fact. You will need a title page AND a reference page.

4. After your outline is complete, write a 3-5 paragraph paper of your own satirical solution to your researched problem. Use techniques that we’ve discussed (ex: irony, parody, exaggeration, etc.) in order to effectively satirize your situation. Research is not necessary for this component; therefore you do not need parenthetical citation. If you DO use outside information, however, you will need to cite to avoid plagiarism.

5. Staple your items in the following order: APA cover page, outline, satire paragraphs, references. You should have proper APA headings throughout the entire packet.

6. Be creative & have fun with it!!!

Example Outline (The following information will be in complete sentences with APA parenthetical citation at the end of each sentence):

Title

I. Background

A. Definition

B. Location

C. Groups/People Involved

D. Origination of problem

II. Causes of Problem

A. Cause 1

B. Cause 2

III. Statistics and Data

A. Numbers affected

B. Growth of problem

C. Projection of problem

IV. Current Solutions

A. Solution 1 & Effectiveness

B. Solution 2 & Effectiveness

V. Miscellaneous

Remember the following about APA format:

The title page includes your name, date, school about 1/3 of the way down the page, centered. The header will include (left) Running head: TITLE and (right) page #

The rest of your paper will have a header of TITLE (no “Running head” anymore) and subsequent page numbers. The outline title, satire title, and reference titles will be included, centered on the respective pages.

The References page only has the title of “References” as well as alphabetized sources—you must have at least 3 reliable sources—with hanging indentation and no active hyperlinks.

ALL font is Times New Roman, size 12—NOTHING is bolded or underlined.

Visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab for sample papers/answers to your questions.



Part I: Outline Rubric

| |Excellent (4) |Good (3) |Developing (2) |Re-do (1) |

|Organization |Outline is organized in a manner that|Outline is well-organized, but there |Outline is organized, although not |Outline is not organized in|

| |clearly indicates topics and |may be one instance of ineffective |effectively. Problems with missing |any apparent manner. |

| |subtopics. Organization effectively |organization (such as a misplaced or |or misplaced facts that do not flow| |

| |supports topic. |missing fact). |well. | |

|Grammar |Obviously edited; no grammatical |Editing is apparent, although could |Editing is inefficient. Multiple |Little editing apparent. |

| |errors, including—but not limited |have been more thorough. Few errors |errors, some of which affect |Riddled with errors. |

| |to—missing apostrophes. |that do not affect understanding. |understanding. | |

|Diction |Word choice is effective, vibrant, |Word choice appropriate. May include |Word choice mundane. Includes |Ineffective word choice. |

| |and appropriate. Few, if any, linking|linking verbs that render less |linking verbs and passive tense. |Linking verbs and passive |

| |verbs or instances of passive tense. |effective. Few instances of passive | |tense ad nauseam. |

| | |tense. | | |

|Syntax | Complete sentence |Mostly complete sentences. One |Some complete sentences; more than |Few complete sentences; |

| |throughout. No fragments |fragment OR run-on. |one fragment or run-ons |Many fragments & run-ons. |

| |or run-ons. | | | |

|Formality |No 1st or 2nd person POV; no slang or|May include ONE of the following: |Includes more than one of the |Riddled with instances of |

| |colloquialisms. No contractions. |slang, colloquialisms, 1st or 2nd |examples to the left. |examples in columns “3” and|

| | |person POV, contraction | |“4” |

|Content |Information has substance that |Information supports problem but |Information supports problem but |Information does not |

| |supports the problem. Clearly |lacks the depth to make it most |superficial in nature and at times |support problem; multiple |

| |relevant to topic at hand. |effective. |irrelevant. |instances of irrelevance |

|Quality of sources |Reputable sources (i.e. orgs and |2 reputable sources, 1 questionable |1 reputable source, 2 questionable |Less than 3 sources or 3 |

| |edus). No Wikipedia. |source |sources |questionable sources. |

|Parenthetical Citations |At the end of every fact. At least 3 |Included for most facts. May be |Included for some facts; missing |Not included |

| |different sources; all found in |missing in one or two. |often | |

| |reference page. | | | |

Total: _______ / 32

Part II: Satire Rubric

| |Excellent (4) |Good (3) |Developing (2) |Re-do (1) |

|Tone |Subtle techniques (below) indicate the author’s |Tone is appropriate, although there may|Tone is inconsistent and obvious |Tone is inconsistent and |

| |position without being superficial or obvious. |be some obviousness or small error in |at times; undermines overall |obvious throughout |

| |Consistent and appropriate. |consistency. |effect. |satire. |

|Techniques |Author incorporates at least two techniques |Author incorporates at least two |Author incorporates only one |Author does not |

|(refer to holiday |(i.e. irony, hyperbole) effectively and |techniques although may not included in|technique effectively. |incorporate techniques or|

|work packet for list|appropriately. |order to be most effective. | |does so ineffectively. |

|of more) | | | | |

|Delivery |Satire clearly emphasizes author’s understanding|Satire indicates author’s understanding|Satire indicates some |Satire does not indicate |

| |of the genre. |of genre, although author may not |understanding, although author |author’s understanding of|

| | |understand as in depth as ideal. |does not demonstrate this clearly.|genre. |

|Purpose |Satire effectively indicates societal problem |Satire indicates societal problem and |Satire indicates societal problem |Satire problem/ |

| |and solutions reinforce need for societal |solution, although may have |and solution, although there are a|solution is unrelated and|

| |awareness & change. | |few errors. |ineffective. |

|Relevance to Problem|Solutions logically support problem. |Solution supports problem, although |Satire solution is related, |Satire solution is |

| | |there may be a small error (or |although not closely enough for |unrelated to problem and |

| | |omission) in logic. |best effect. |ineffective. |

|Creativity |Satire clearly reflects author’s risks and |Satire reflects risks and efforts, |Satire indicates some risk or |Satire reflects little |

| |intense efforts. |although both could have been more |effort. |risk or effort. |

| | |apparent. | | |

Total: ________/24 x 1.5 = _______ / 36

Part III: APA Rubric

| |Excellent (4) |Good (3) |Developing (2) |Re-do (1) |

|Format |All text is Times New Roman, size 12, with no |Most of text is TNR, size 12. No |Most of text is TNR, size 12. May |Multiple errors in |

| |bolds or underlines anywhere in the paper. 1”|bolds or underlines in paper. |be one or two bolds/ underlines in|formatting. |

| |margins throughout. |Margins are 1” throughout. |paper. May have margin errors. | |

|Title Page |Follows APA format with proper placement of |Small error in placement of |More than one error in placement |Multiple errors. |

| |information (all typed and spelled properly). |information or information itself. |or information OR error in | |

| |All text follows format above. |Properly formatted. |formatting of title page. | |

|Headers |All headers are correct according to page of |One small error in header |More than one error. |Multiple errors. |

| |paper. Title Page includes Running head, title|information, capitalization, | | |

| |in caps, and page 1. Subsequent pages only |placement, or consistency. | | |

| |include TITLE and page numbers. | | | |

|Parenthetical Citation |All correct with author last name, date, and |Included, although minor error in |Included, although more than one |Multiple errors. |

| |pg # when applicable. After each fact with |formatting or consistency |error in formatting or | |

| |punctuation after parentheses. |(including incorrect punctuation |consistency. | |

| | |placement) | | |

|Reference Page |Properly alphabetized, with centered title |One minor error in formatting (see |More than one error. |Multiple errors. |

| |(formatted correctly) and hanging indentation.|column to left). | | |

| |No active hyperlinks. | | | |

APA total: __________/25

Project Total: __________/93

Comments:

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