Satire Essay Assignment
Objectives:

Apply what you know about satire and the five step process to analyzing satire.

Differentiate between Horatian and Juvenalian satire

Cite evidence to support your argument

Practice informational writing skills
The Task:
Informational writing is essential for the working adult since most correspondence is meant to inform the reader of something
important—facts, details, ideas, directions, clarification, etc... For this assignment you will develop your informational writing skills
to explain how something you’ve read is satire. Start by informing the reader of the overall satirical message, and explain who or what
the object of satire is. Next, you will have to show how it is Horatian and Juvenalian satire, while pointing out and explaining the
irony used by the creator. You will be given two articles to study on your own and write about. You will also be required to find your
own example of satire—or create your own example to write about. This style of writing is easy because it is very straightforward, and
clear-cut. The goal is simply to inform the reader!
The Process:
1.
2.
Study the characteristic of satire, examine examples found
in various texts: literature, film, political cartoons, etc...
Read two examples of satire provided by the teacher and
apply what you’ve learned about analyzing satire.
3.
Develop your responses into detailed body paragraphs.
6.
Write an interesting introduction and thought provoking
conclusion to tie it all together.
7.
Locate a third example of satire on your own to analyze.
OR create your own satire to analyze (see me first!).
4.
5.
Make an appointment to have your paper edited (email
me for an appointment at [email protected])
8.
Apply the 5-step process of satire analysis to each article,
Revise your final draft, upload to www.turnitin.com by
the due date of _______________at _____pm.
plus the one you found or created. Answer each question
with a detailed explanation and quoted passages.
Essay Requirements:

Typed and uploaded prior to due date/time

Use 3STS and 3SQS:
o
Introduction, body paragraph(s), and conclusion
o
Body paragraphs contain correctly cited quotes from
the examples of satire

Content of the essay is 2 to 3 pages in length

Works cited page is included and correct

Copy of the example of satire you found is submitted in hard
copy.

Double-spacing, no extra space between paragraphs

12-point font Times New Roman

One-inch margins at top, bottom, both sides

Heading—Name, due date, and period
1
Subject of the Satire: On TV
Comment or Criticism Being Made
Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,”
Infomercials, or PSA’s
The Daily Show, Colbert Report
Television news, politics,
famous people and their antics,
The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill
Arrested Development, South Park, Modern Family
TV Sitcoms, American family
life and its absurdities, society
The Office, Parks and Recreation
Documentary style of filming,
workplace antics
Subject of the Satire: In Film
Comment or Criticism Being Made
Scary Movie
Horror movies
Austin Powers
1960’s spy movies
This is Spinal Tap
Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Dr. Strangelove
Office Space
The Princess Bride
Rockumentary
The origins of Christianity
End of days philosophy
Mocumentary film style,
Workplace antics, cubicle jobs
Traditional fairytales
Subject of the Satire: In Literature
Comment or Criticism Being Made
1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm, A Clockwork
Orange, Candide, Gulliver’s Travels, Cat’s Cradle,
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Fight Club
Dystopian Societies
And Changing Governments
Subject of the Satire: Political cartoons
Comment or Criticism Being Made
Doonesbury
Non-Sequiter
Tom Tomorrow’s This Modern World
Politicians and political issues
Subject of the Satire: Magazines
Comment or Criticism Being Made
The Onion
MAD Magazine
Rolling Stone
Politicians and political issues,
Mockumentaries of famous
pieces.
Subject of the Satire: Music
Comment or Criticism Being Made
Weird Al Yankovich
Pink “Stupid Girl”
Pink Floyd's Animals and The Dark Side of the Moon
musicians and music videos
Identification of human flaws and vices related
to politics, entertainment, human interaction and
current events.
Exaggerates the techniques used by horror
movies to scare audiences.
Sexism towards women. Ridicules both by the
spy and stupidity of the evil villain.
The excess of modern musicians.
Educational ignorance
Politics, government, optimism in a broken
society, changing society or social beliefs
The policy decisions and personality traits of
elected officials can be flawed.
Weekly cartoon of social and
political satire
The policy decisions and personality traits of
elected officials can be flawed.
The excess of modern musicians. Simplicity and
immaturity of the lyrics in modern music.
Conceptual and satirical
albums.
The Lonely Island
Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone's The Book
of Mormon (musical)
Eminem, Ludacris, The Roots
A satirical music group known
for their work on SNL.
Rappers whose lyrics
sometimes contain satire.
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/satire/notable-examples-of-satire.html
http://www.world-newspapers.com/humor.html
2
The Onion | America's Finest News Source
February 23, 2012
“Apple Vows To End Unsafe Labor Practices”
Amidst charges that Apple employs numerous Chinese factories that mistreat and underpay their
employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook vowed to ensure the safety and fair compensation of the people who
make the company’s popular iPods, iPads, and iPhones. Here are some of the changes that will be
instituted:








Employees to be given 15-minute breaks to talk about how great the company is with their coworkers.
All electrical outlets must be raised to at least two inches above standing water on factory floor.
Employees will be allowed to choose the color of their own dormitory walls from a list of four preapproved grays.
One suggestion box per square mile of factory floor.
Laborers immobilized by repetitive stress injuries now humanely put down by Apple’s Mercy Squads.
Suicidal employees given Tony Robbins–filled iPod Shuffle.
iPhone users to roam factory floor playing Angry Birds, helping hard-working employees feel more
connected to final product.
Ten percent employee discount on AppleCare.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-vows-to-end-unsafe-labor-practices,27465/
Date accessed: April 9, 2012
3
The Onion | America's Finest News Source
“I Would Have Been Considered Very Attractive In The Middle Ages”
By Lyle Hume
February 28, 2007
In today's grooming-obsessed world, I admit, I have some catching up to do. I'm certainly no feast for the
eyes. I recognize this fact daily as I apply lotion to my many acne scars. But all this proper grooming stuff is a
fairly recent thing, is it not? I'm certainly not knocking any man who wishes to look presentable, but at the
same time I realize we're creatures of our times, and tastes do change. For example, I, even in my present
state, would have been quite the catch eight or nine centuries ago. Shouldn't that count for something?
Take my smile, for instance. This mouthful of crooked, yellowing teeth jammed willy-nilly in a bloody bed of
abscessed gums would've turned more than a few wenches' heads back in 1350. After all, I still have about 65 percent of them,
which would have been way ahead of the curve for that time.
I might be sweaty and jowly, but you can't accuse me of being sooty or excrement- befouled. People in those days were lucky if
they bathed once a year—many didn't at all. I do the deed every week to 10 days, so that definitely gives me a leg up on the
competition. And look at my face—acne scars, yes, but not a single smallpox mark. Big plus in the Middle Ages. Never caught
the bubonic plague, either. Maybe my fellow villagers would have considered me some kind of miraculous supernatural
creature, like an archangel. Or the Church of Rome would've made me a saint. Then again, maybe I would've been branded a
freak or a heretic for my excellent hygiene, so I'd have to tone it down.
I think my modern cotton T-shirts, soiled, stinking, and riddled with holes though they are, would have ranked among the finest
linen found outside a royal court. But with my dry, leathery skin and copious body hair, I bet I would have worn a rough tunic
or hair shirt well, too. Most people only had one outfit anyhow, so that would have been totally consistent with my tendency to
rarely change clothes.
In the Middle Ages, the only way I would have been sexier is if I could play the lute or were a maiden-rescuing knight-errant.
Of course, at 27, I would've been getting on in years, but I don't think the maidens would have held it against me. They might
have been greatly attracted to someone roughly their fathers' age who had managed to hold onto most of his teeth and remain
leprosy-free.
Plus, I have gout. The disease of kings! Talk about flaunting the wealth! My inflamed, pus-filled foot would have let the
womenfolk know just how many kidney pies and sweetbreads I could afford. I'd have been known as Lyle the Fat, but in a good
way.
And it's true I have syphilis, as well, but who didn't back then? Besides, I have a few years before the pox reaches my brain and
makes me permanently demented, which wouldn't have even been a factor in the Middle Ages because I would've been killed
off by something else anyhow, like consumption or a witch hunt.
For 1,000 years ago, I'm in my prime!
Thinking about all this kind of puts my situation in a whole new perspective. I'm no longer quite so ashamed that I've neglected
my broken plumbing to the point that I fling buckets of my own waste onto the sidewalk outside my home, or keep a 30-stone
sow in my front yard. Or tan my own leather. It's an excellent medieval skill, you know. Try to find me some peasant lass from
the year 1061 who wouldn't be highly impressed by a guy who knew how to soak a blood-caked cow hide in a fetid vat of urine
and animal brains for several months, then cure it with a mixture of dog and pigeon feces. One look at that, and she'd want me
to father her stillborn in no time flat.
Yes, this sexy serf would be pretty unstoppable, the toast of the fair, May Day, and public gibbeting alike. You all are missing
out.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-would-have-been-considered-very-attractive-in-th,11293/
Date accessed: April 9, 2012
4
Informational Essay—Satire
British Literature
Due Date:
Essay Topic:
Satire Informational Essay
4—3.5
3—2.5
2—1.5
1—0
FOCUS: Writer has successfully informed the reader of how satire is used in
selected pieces.
CONTENT: Writer has correctly applied the five step process of analyzing satire
to three different works.
ORGANIZATION: Content within paragraphs follow a logical order. Quoted
material is worked into the writer’s original sentences and transitions.
STYLE: Writer has employed a variety in sentence starters, transitions and
linking ideas. The style is straightforward and direct.
CONVENTIONS: Quotes and citations are correct. Consistent verb tense and
parallel sentence structure. Appropriate word choice.
Comments:
Overall Score: _____ / 20
Focus:
Content
Development
:
4
Organization
:
Style:
Conventions:
Focus:
Content
Development
:
3
Organization
:
Style:
Conventions:
Sharp, distinct controlling point made about a single topic
with evident awareness of task and audience.
Substantial, relevant, and illustrative content that
demonstrates a clear understanding of the purpose.
Thorough elaboration with effectively presented
information consistently supported with well-chosen
details.
Effective organizational strategies and structures, such as
logical order and transitions, which develop a controlling
idea.
Precise control of language, stylistic techniques, and
sentence structures that creates a consistent and effective
tone.
Thorough control of sentence formation. Few errors, if
any, are present in grammar, usage, spelling, and
punctuation, but the errors that are present do not interfere
with meaning.
Clear controlling point made about a single topic with
general awareness of task and audience.
Adequate, specific, and/or illustrative content that
demonstrates an understanding of the purpose. Sufficient
elaboration with clearly presented information supported
with well chosen details.
Organizational strategies and structures, such as logical
order and transitions, which develop a controlling idea.
Appropriate control of language, stylistic techniques, and
sentence structures that creates a consistent tone.
Adequate control of sentence formation. Some errors may
be present in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation,
but few of the errors that are present may interfere with
meaning.
2
Focus:
Vague evidence of a controlling point made about a single
topic with an inconsistent awareness of task and audience.
Content
Development:
Inadequate, vague content that demonstrates a weak
understanding of the purpose. Underdeveloped and/or
repetitive elaboration with inconsistently supported
information. May be an extended list.
Organization:
Inconsistent organizational strategies and structures, such as
logical order and transitions, which ineffectively develop a
controlling idea
Style:
Limited control of language and sentence structures that
creates interference with tone.
Conventions:
Focus:
Content
Development:
1
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:
Limited and/or inconsistent control of sentence formation.
Some sentences may be awkward or fragmented. Many errors
may be present in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation,
and some of those errors may interfere with meaning.
Little or no evidence of a controlling point made about a
single topic with a minimal awareness of task and audience.
Minimal evidence of content that demonstrates a lack of
understanding of the purpose. Superficial, undeveloped
writing with little or no support. May be a bare list.
Little or no evidence of organizational strategies and
structures, such as logical order and transitions, which
inadequately develop a controlling idea.
Minimal control of language and sentence structures that
creates an inconsistent tone.
Minimal control of sentence formation. Many sentences are
awkward and fragmented. Many errors may be present in
grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation, and many of those
errors may interfere with meaning.
5