Satire Unit Project
For this Unit Project, you will be writing a satirical essay addressing a problem in your community. You may choose community on any level: local, school, national, or world. You may choose a topic as large as global warming or as focused as uniforms in your high school. I recommend choosing something on the national scale for ease of research.
Possible topics could include:
Global warming
Health care
Food stamps or unemployment benefits
Gun control
Immigration
NSA domestic surveillance
Gay marriage
Marijuana legalization
National debt
Education reform
These are a few suggestions, but you may choose any topic that you can satirize. (The exception to this is abortion rights. This topic is off-limits for this essay.)
Once you have chosen a topic, your paper should explain the debate:
What are the arguments on either side?
What logical, ethical, and emotional appeals are used?
Who are the key figures in the debate (politicians, actors, news pundits, etc)?
Use a minimum of four quotes, properly cited.
Then, propose a ridiculous solution to the problem. Proceed with your paper by using logical, ethical, and emotional appeals to make a satirical case as to why your ridiculous solution is the “best” solution.
Your whole essay should be written in a satirical tone, in the way that Swift does in Modest Proposal. (You can also refer to Stephen Colbert as an excellent modern example.) Sell your solution!
You must use all three of the following satirical devices:
Exaggeration or hyperbole
Understatement
Irony or Sarcasm
Now that you have constructed your satirical argument, turn that into a multi-media presentation. Turn your argument into a PowerPoint presentation.
Here, give you argument more dimension. Your presentation should include a variety of additional materials:
Video clips from key figures in the debate
Sound
Music
A recording of your voice
Pictures
Animations
This essay should be between two and five pages (500-1250 words) in length. Your final draft should be saved and submitted as .doc or .pdf file. It should be in 12-point font in Times New Roman. Your presentation must be at least three minutes long or include a minimum of ten slides.
10% of your grade will be on grammar and mechanics. Write as clearly and correctly as you can. This means that 90% of your grade is based on your ideas – however, you will not earn an A if you do not proofread carefully and check for errors.
Most importantly, remember this is a culminating project for the Satire Unit. Your essay should show everything you have learned throughout the unit.
Solution Preview
Marijuana legalization has been a controversial issue for a long time now with people on both sides having valid arguments about it. While marijuana has been proven to have addictive values, it has also proven to have medical values that are very helpful to people. Among these medical abilities is the fact it can reduce stress as well as deliver a happy feeling. According to Pearson (2017) while this is the case it doesn’t change the fact that marijuana has been known for its ability to change people’s view of life from the normal which means that just like any drug it changes a person’s perspective of things.
(656 words)