The Last Two Themes:

Your Choice: Empathy Letter or Irony Theme?

The Empathy Letter

1. Think of some person whose actions, thoughts, or attitudes you would like to see changed.

2. Decide explicitly exactly what you think should be changed.

3. Try to place yourselves in the shoes of the person to whom you are writing the letter and imagine why they are acting, thinking, or feeling in ways you think unwise.

4. Begin the letter casually, reminiscing and paying a few sincere compliments to the recipient of the letter.

5. State what bothers you about the person to whom you are addressing the letter.

6. Proceed to put the best possible explanation on the causes for these actions, thoughts, or feelings which you deplore. 7. Reiterate what you would like to see changed and give reasons for this wish.

8. Reaffirm your regard for the person receiving the letter.

Pit-falls

1. Attacking the person‘s motives instead of his actions, thoughts, or feelings.

2. Being vague about what you would like to see changed.

3. Failing to try to understand the reasons for the weakness of the person addressed.

4. Assuming a holier-than-thou tone.

An Ironic Argument

1 As always in composition the thought should precede consideration of the manner you plan to use in presenting it. This is especially true in the irony theme. Pick the subject before worrying about developing it through irony.

2 Find a situation which annoys you, since irony is used best to develop criticism.

3 Write your thesis statement stating what annoys you. Divide the subject into two, three, or four subdivisions. Write a sentence for each.

4 Turn thesis statement and subdivision statements into irony; by making each say the opposite of what is the real case.

5 Write the introductory paragraph and include the thesis statement in its ironic form. The rest of the paragraph should be straight explanatory material.

6 In each of the developmental paragraphs begin with one of the points in the subdivision. Leave the statement in its ironic form.

7 Complete each paragraph with straight specific facts which give the lie to your ironic topic sentences.

8 Close the last developmental paragraph with the clincher sentence (which should restate the thesis statement in ironic form).

Creating the “Crazy You”• Irony essays are especially difficult because

you, the writer, are going to argue a point but you are going to do so by creating a “crazy you” whose mad position will in its absurdity prove your true intent.

• Think of Jonathon Swift in his famous “A Modest Proposal” – The English were so abusing the Irish that there was

a phrase that the “English were eating the Irish.”– As an Irishman himself, Swift wants to call

attention to this abuse.– Swift creates a narrator who, as a way to alleviate

the suffering of the Irish, puts forth the idea of English cannibalism.

An Outline: A Practical Guide

Your outline should look like this before you apply irony to each statement:

Thesis: The U.S. Postal Service is very inefficient.

I. It is very slow. A- B Concrete details

II. It often mishandles letters and parcels.

A- B Concrete details

III. It often loses or misplaces letters and parcels. A- B Concrete details

After you apply irony, your outline should look like this to each statement:

Thesis: The U.S. Postal Service is very inefficient.

I. It is very fast. A- B Concrete details same as before

II. It never mishandles letters and parcels.

A- B Concrete details same as before

III. It never loses or misplaces letters and parcels.

A- B Concrete details same as before

Pit falls

1. Picking a subject which you wish to praise, not censure.

2. Picking a subject about which you feel anger, not annoyance.

3. Making the whole theme ironic.

4. Making the supporting sentences too general.

5. Making the supporting materials ironical.