Five forms of pseudoscience

What is Satire? An AP prompt used the following article from The Onion for an AP rhetorical strategies prompt. Click below for prompt.

In small groups, decide how you would answer this question. After some group consultation, we’ll talk about how to respond to this and what makes satire work. Afterward, well read “Girl Moved to Tears by Of Mice and Men Cliff Notes” and figure out what is satire in that piece.

In class, in pairs, write your own Onion headline and at least 3-4 paragraphs of the fake news piece that would accompany it. Some possible topics include:

• WASL
• Graduation
• Bad TV
• Pretentious Teachers/Artists
• Grades
• The Election
• Seattle

We may listen to this in preparation. Then, I’m hoping that groups can send their headlines to other groups for them to write up. We’ll post them here.

Finally, we’ll read the first section of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (it’s in your 50 Essays book).

1. How does Swift want the reader the speaker? What features best describe the “persona” he adopts?
2. Note Swift’s diction in the opening paragraphs. Identify examples of quantification and dehumanization. Explain their purpose.
3. Swift’s speaker explains the anticipated results before revealing the actual proposal. Explain the rhetorical purpose of such a strategy.
4. What are some assumptions underlying paragraph 7.
5. For each of the classic appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos) indicate two examples from the first 8 paragraphs. Which one is the speaker’s primary appeal?
6. Read paragraph 9 carefully. Explain the purposeand effect of the qualifiers included there.

HW: Finish reading A Modest Proposal and then write your own Modest Proposal in which you suggest something ridiculous but make a seemingly logical argument. Response to Standard Operating Procedure is due as well.

Also, bring in something funny. If you’re not sure what’s funny, see this.