By Scott Richardson
An Imitation
Inspired by Martin Luther
King’s “I Have a Dream”
Professor: Will Duffy
Intended Double-Major: Strategic
Communications/Creative Writing
April 26, 2010
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
Description
I wrote this piece for an assignment in my
College Writing class. The requirement was to
select an example of argumentative and
persuasive writing and then write an imitation
of it, following the structure of the original text
while substituting new subject matter.
Along with the actual imitation, the
assignment called for a rhetorical introduction
of the piece. The introduction serves as a brief
explanation of the rhetorical features of the
original text and a description of which of these
features I chose to incorporate into my own
imitation of the piece.
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
My Take
The persuasive text that I chose to imitate
was Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”
speech. I have changed King’s central message,
“I Have a Dream,” to “I Have a Problem.” In
addition, I have changed the central theme of
the text from hope to procrastination.
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
Strengths
I believe that the strength of my paper lies
within its humor and its faithfulness to the
language of King’s speech. My goal was to
create a successful parody by taking my subject
seriously, and by writing as cleverly as possible
without crossing the line into sheer silliness. I
enjoy writing, especially writing humor, and I
feel that the final version of my work reflects
the passion I had for writing this particular
piece.
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
My Work
Example 1
MLK: “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the
greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today,
signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great
beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of
withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their
captivity.”
ME: “I am happy to present for you today what will go down in history as the greatest
demonstration of procrastination in the history of College Writing 110.
Two weeks ago, a college professor, in whose class I spin around in circles in my swivel
chair, allocated to his class the second graded writing assignment of the semester. This
six- to eight-page paper came forth as a tremendous damper on the lives of my
classmates and myself, who had anticipated the weekend before our fall break to be
full of joy and partying. ”
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Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
My Work
Example 2
MLK: “In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the
architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the
Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every
American was to fall heir…It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this
promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring
this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which
has come back marked "insufficient funds.”
ME: “In a sense, it is now “do or die” time. By waiting this long to start my paper, I am
guaranteed to be sleep-deprived come Monday morning. At this point, it is obvious
that I am not looking out for my best self-interests, for if I were I would have
brainstormed further or actually come up with an acceptable idea before Saturday
night. Instead of planning properly, I have thrust myself into a pressure situation, one
that will require nothing short of a rhetorical miracle in order to secure myself a
halfway decent grade.”
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Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
My Work
Example 3
MLK: “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of
hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation
into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work
together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for
freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”
ME: “With this faith, I am submitting this assignment knowing full well that it could be
offensive and/or obnoxious. With this faith, I will completely leave it up to Will to
decide if I did indeed write this paper on Sunday or if I am actually an intellectually
creative individual. With this faith, I am dropping a fair amount of expletives
throughout my paper, hoping that I will be graded not by the color of my language but
by the content of my characters.”
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Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
Challenges
Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” is
one of the most powerful and beloved
speeches of all time. By choosing this text to
imitate, I set a high standard for myself. A
challenge I faced was making sure that the
rhetorical features I borrowed from King still
came across as persuasive and convincing,
especially since I was changing not only the
theme but the tone as well. This task was a
tricky one because I was attempting to mimic a
motivational speech but give it a light-hearted
spin without losing credibility.
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Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
Taboo?
Another challenge I faced was projecting
the appropriate level of respect for King’s
speech. I knew that satirizing one of the most
inspiring moments of the civil rights movement
could be offensive if not handled well, but I was
willing to take the chance just so long as I could
keep a dignified tone. My intention was to
create a parody without a great sense of
irreverence toward the original source.
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
What I Learned
From this project I have learned that in
order to create a piece of good writing you
cannot play it safe. The topic, a parody of a
pivotal civil rights speech, was risky, but I
believed that I could make this topic work if I
committed fully to the task. I therefore learned
to trust my intuition.
I had heard portions of King’s speech
before, but through this project I viewed it in a
way I never had before. By reading it in its
entirety so many times in order to create an
imitation, I appreciated the power and imagery
of the words, and the skill it took to create
them. Exposure to such a great work helped me
to become a better writer, and for me, this
benefit was an unexpected consequence of the
project.
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
My Writing Process
If you believe the legend, Mozart was able
to write perfect first drafts, as if he were taking
dictation from God himself. However, for the
rest of us mere mortals without such a direct
connection to the Lord, the process of creating
takes work. From this assignment I have gained
an appreciation for writing process and the
amount of work that goes into creating a piece
of good writing.
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Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
My Inspiration
Since I am not Mozart, I value the
importance of proofreading, peer-editing and
revising, all of which are necessary steps in the
process. This is one of the reasons I chose my
topic of procrastination. I wanted to parody the
writing process itself.
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Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective
English 110 Objective
My project best meets the objective of
developing a more sophisticated writing
process. My project parodies the writing
process, and I feel that I could not have created
a successful satire of it without fully
understanding it.
In creating this piece, although it is a
parody, I wrote it the same way as if I were
writing a serious essay. I wrote the first draft
with great attention to the original King text.
After several rounds of edits, I received some
peer responses, and edited it again based on
my peers’ comments. I think the fact that I
could mock the difficult process of writing
demonstrates how my project meets this first
objective.
Home Description My Take Strengths Example #1 Example #2 Example #3
Challenges Taboo? What I Learned Writing Process Inspiration ENG 110 Objective