- Chapter Objectives
- Genre Toolkit Table
- Talk About It: Discussion Questions
- Genre: Why would the author of a newspaper column opt for a satirical style over a straight style? Compare Pia’s satire column with Rini’s op-ed, for example. Here you might discuss the appropriateness of satire for the topic at hand. Rini’s topic of disability discrimination might not suit the satire genre because of its seriousness. However, there is room for debate on this because popular satirists such as Jon Stewart (and even Jonathan Swift) regularly address serious issues using satire. Ask questions like the following:
- How might you address sensitive topics well using satire?
- What do you need to be careful of when addressing sensitive topics using satire?
- How can you tell if what you have written is satire, rather than a perpetuation of the problem the satire is trying to address?
- Organization and content: You’ve been asked to write a satire column about a current event in national or world politics for a national newspaper. Select a topic and figure out what the ironic angle would be for your satire column.
- Peer workshop: (When students are at the draft stage, have them bring in two copies of their draft, one for themselves and one to share with their partners.) First, read your satire out loud to your partner, while your partner reads along on the extra copy. Ask your partner to put an asterisk down on the page anytime she or he finds the satire to be too heavy-handed or offensive. Then, look back over the draft together and talk about the places she or he marked and how to improve them. Make a list of at least four changes you will make to your draft when you revise. Then, repeat the process for the other partner.
- Write About It: Writing Prompts
- Freewrite: Think about an issue on your campus that you might feature in your satire column. Try to choose a topic that you are already familiar with or that you are interested in learning more about. Write for five minutes about why this topic would be a good subject for a satire and what your satirical angle would be.
- Journal entry: Often, satires are funny because the arguments against the writer’s position are presented in an ironic or silly way. In a journal entry, write about all of the possible counterarguments to your position and ways to make them look ridiculous in your satire.
- Rough draft: Write a rough draft (Chapter 17) for your satire. You can indicate where you still need to add material from your research. If you get stuck, look at the examples in the textbook for inspiration or refer back to your prewriting. Be sure to bring your draft to class next time for in-class peer workshop activities.
- Revision: Revise one section of your draft (completed in step 1, above), such as the introduction or a series of body paragraphs. Then, write a list of the changes you made. Bring your revised section and your list to class to share with your group.
- Discussion board or forum: Write a brief forum or discussion board post in which you describe three possible choices for the topic you might feature in your satire. Your goal is to get input from your classmates about which topic seems the most interesting and feasible to write about. If you have questions, you can ask them here. Then, reply to at least two of your classmates’ posts, giving your opinion on what topic they should choose, and why.
- Online workshop: Post one section of your draft to the course management system (Discussion Board, Forum, etc.). Write at least two questions about the section (e.g., How can I draw the reader in? Are my voice and tone appropriate? Does the satire take things too far?). Then, comment on at least two other students’ posts, answering the questions they have posed about their draft.
- Media Suggestions
- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: http://www.thedailyshow.com
- The Onion: http://www.theonion.com
- Intercultural Teaching Tips
- Class Handouts
C10. Argumentative Genres
The purpose of this chapter is to provide you with
teaching materials to guide students toward the ultimate goal of writing a
satire, the chapter project featured in Chapter 10 of How Writing Works.
We
have included in-class discussion questions, activities, and writing exercises
that will scaffold students’ progress toward the final project, while also
reinforcing the key concepts introduced in Part 1 and in Chapter 10.
Genre
|
What is it?
|
Who reads it?
|
What’s it for?
|
Print
advertisement
|
A short,
persuasive printed document that appears in print publications, usually
image-heavy
|
Readers of the
print publications in which the advertisement appears
|
To persuade
readers to buy or do something
|
Column, op-ed, or
letter to the editor
|
A short written
document published in a newspaper or magazine
|
Readers of the
publication in which the document appears
|
To persuade
readers to agree with the writer’s opinion
|
202
C10. Teach It: Argumentative Genres 203
Candidate speech
|
A spoken text
delivered by a candidate for political office
|
People who may
vote for the candidate
|
To persuade
people to vote the candidate into office
|
Satire
|
An ironic written
document, usually printed in a newspaper or magazine, similar to a column or
op-ed
|
Readers of the
publication in which the satire appears
|
To persuade
people, using irony, to agree with the writer’s opinion
|
Concept-Centered Question
Note: The goal here is to get students to
apply their critical tools (the Genre Toolkit) to a new set of documents, to
see how the conventions of satire hold or change across the wider variety of
satires.
Note: The goal here is to get students to
transition from thinking about audience, genre, and purpose to thinking about
how to put that knowledge into practice. Have students pitch their satire
columns to partners or groups as though their partners were their newspaper
editors.
Note: Students sometimes compose satires that
take things too far, becoming offensive to readers. This activity will help
students to ward off that tendency. While students are working on this
activity, you can circulate around the class and eavesdrop on their
conversations. Try to resist the urge to intervene, but take notes about what
you hear, either promising and effective comments or common concerns of
confusion you observe. When students have finished this activity, you can wrap
up by praising students for effective peer workshop techniques (giving
examples) and then by addressing any points of confusion that have arisen.
206 C10.
Teach It: Argumentative Genres
Here we have provided ideas for writing prompts that
you can assign in class, for homework, or as online exercises. These are
writing activities that can serve as prewriting for the chapter project or as
stages in writing the chapter project.
Ideally,
students should practice doing some writing for every class session (either in
class or as homework), but you do not need to assign all three types of
writing for every session.
Depending
on your approach to grading, you may or may not assign a grade to these kinds
of assignments. Some prefer to award points that go toward class participation
and attendance; others consider these materials as part of the grade for the
final project; still others will set aside a certain percentage of the course
grade for in-class activities and homework. In general, though, you should
award points for completing these kinds of assignments but do not need to
assign a letter grade or give extensive comments.
In Class
Take Home
C10. Teach It: Argumentative Genres 207
Online
Note: Assign this activity early in the unit,
when students are still deciding on a topic for their satires. You can follow
up in class by asking a few students to share what topic they have settled on
and why.
Note: Assign this activity at the midpoint of
the unit, when students have at least a partial draft. You can repeat this
activity several times during the unit or mix this activity with an in-class
workshop so that students get many chances to revise their work based on peer
feedback.
Have students check out the following websites for
examples of multimedia satire:
208 C10.
Teach It: Argumentative Genres
You can ask them to share their favorite pieces with
the class or to use these examples as models for their own writing.
Irony can be one of the most difficult
cross-cultural cues to pick up on, both in written and in spoken forms. For
students learning English as a second language, reading and writing satires
might be a particular challenge.
You
might choose to modify this final assignment to a straight newspaper column or
offer a choice to your students between a straight newspaper column and a
satire column. That way, students who experience difficulties identifying and
expressing irony in English can make their arguments in a more traditional
fashion.
Alternatively,
you might spend extra time on examples in the textbook or others that you
find. Ask students to help you to identify markers of satire or irony. For
instance, how do we know that Jon Stewart is not a real newscaster? What clues
(from visual effects to the tone of his voice) tip you off?
Handout: Peer Review Worksheet
Note: You can
use this worksheet when students have a complete draft to workshop. Have
students write comments in the third column to address the questions and then
complete the task in the fourth column by marking up the writer’s draft. Ask
all peer reviewers to include their own names, the writer’s name, and the date
in the last row; and then give it back to the writer. You should leave time
for writers and reviewers to go over the worksheet and explain their comments.
After
the workshop, students should include a revision plan, a list of items that
they plan to address in their next revision. There is a space for the revision
plan toward the bottom of the worksheet.
C10. Teach It: Argumentative Genres 209
Ask the writer to include the worksheet he or she
received from the reviewer when handing in the final project. That way, you
can assess how well both students (the writer and the reviewer) participated
in the draft workshop: how well the reviewer contributed feedback and how well
the writer addressed that feedback in revisions.
210 C10.
Teach It: Argumentative Genres
Peer Review Worksheet: Satire
|
|||||
Questions
|
Comments
|
Tasks
|
|||
Genre, audience, and purpose
|
Does the document suit the genre of a satire?
Does it
suit the audience?
Does it
meet the purpose of a satire?
|
With an asterisk (*), mark one place on the draft where the
writer could address the audience more effectively.
|
|||
Rhetorical situation
|
Is the document suitable for the rhetorical situation?
Has the
author taken on the appropriate role (writer for a campus newspaper?)
Does it
meet the author’s purpose?
Does the
satire meet the audience’s needs and interests?
Does the
satire address a timely campus issue or event?
|
Underline at least one place on the draft where the writer
seems to be slipping into the role of “student” rather than “writer for a
campus newspaper.”
|
C10. Teach It: Argumentative Genres 211
Design, organization, content, and style
|
Is the document designed like a satire?
How is the
document organized, and is that organization effective?
How
interesting and detailed is the content?
Is the
style appropriate for a satire?
Has the
writer proofread the satire carefully for grammar and mechanics?
|
Circle at
least three parts in the satire where the writer’s style seems less suitable
for a campus newspaper—for example, where the writer seems to be taking on
the tone of a college essay.
|
|||
Revision
plan:
|
For the
writer: What four things will you do when you revise this draft? 1)
2)
3)
4)
|
||||
Reviewer’s
name:
|
Writer’s
name:
|
Date of
workshop:
|
212 C10.
Teach It: Argumentative Genres
Handout: Rubric
You can introduce this rubric to your students early
in the unit, shortly after you introduce the unit project. To get students to
focus on using the rubric, you can ask them to develop it with you in class.
As you familiarize students with the genre, ask them to fill in the criteria
for a fair, a good, and an excellent assignment. Then, ask students to use the
rubric in their draft workshops to comment on each other’s papers.
Finally,
use the same rubric to provide feedback on their drafts and evaluate their
work. You can highlight on the rubric those elements students need to address
and add notes on the rubric or on their papers.
C10. Teach It: Argumentative Genres 213
Rubric: Satire
|
|||||
Fair
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|||
Genre,
audience, and purpose
|
The
document does not fully suit the genre of a satire, does not address the
target audience effectively, or does not fulfill the purpose of a satire.
For instance, it may read more like a five-paragraph essay than a satire, or
it may lack details and examples.
|
The
document generally addresses the genre, audience, and purpose of a satire
but may not always do so effectively. For example, it may need more concrete
details to engage the reader, or it may sometimes veer into the essay genre.
|
The
document suits the genre, audience, and purpose of a satire. It comes close
to the examples in the textbook in terms of level of detail and engaging the
audience’s interest.
|
||
Rhetorical situation
|
The
document is not suitable for the rhetorical situation. For example, it may
not address the interests and needs of readers of a campus newspaper.
|
The
document generally addresses the rhetorical situation but may miss
opportunities to make the satire relevant to the situation. For example, the
writer may not fully take on the role of “writer for a campus newspaper” and
may seem stuck in the role of “student.”
|
The
document is appropriate for the rhetorical situation. It meets the needs of
readers of a campus newspaper, fulfills the author’s purpose, and provides a
unique look at a campus issue.
|
||
Design,
organization, content, and style
|
The
document may be organized more like an essay, with a series of points, than
a satire. The content may be inadequate, or the style may not be appropriate
for a satire (too academic and formal, for example).
|
The
document generally suits the design, organization, content, and style of a
satire but may occasionally drift into the five- paragraph essay or some
other genre. The document meets the goals of the assignment but still could
be improved in terms of design, organization, content, or style.
|
The
document reflects the design, organization, content, and style suitable for
a satire. The document keeps the reader focused throughout with interesting
content, an engaging writing style, and a logical organization scheme.
|
||
Grammar and
mechanics
|
The writer
has not proofread carefully; there are a distracting number of grammatical
and mechanical errors.
|
The writing
is generally free of grammatical or mechanical errors but may be awkward or
unclear at times.
|
The writing
is not only free of grammatical or mechanical errors but fluent, polished,
even eloquent.
|
||
Process
|
The student
has not provided evidence of a writing process or participation in draft
workshops. Drafts, comments, and revisions are missing.
|
The student
has provided some evidence of a writing process and participation in draft
workshops but could show more engagement (i.e., more detailed comments in
workshops or more substantive revisions).
|
The student
has provided excellent evidence of a sound writing process and has
contributed effectively to peer workshops.
|
