How Swift’s writing and Colbert’s presentation both employ the strategies from Chapter 14 of Argument Today
1. After reading Chapter 14 of Argument Today, read Swift’s “A Modest Proposal (Links to an external site.)” and watch Colbert’s address to a congressional hearing on migrant labor found below. Many of the pieces that we’ve read deal with modern issues, use modern media, and engage with us as modern readers. Swift’s essay, however, is a historical example of how satire in form and content can use a proposal to attack the ideas that it appears to support. Your assignment, after reading the texts and viewing the video is to post a 300-400 word analysis of how Swift’s writing and Colbert’s presentation both employ the strategies from Chapter 14 of Argument Today. Are there any instances in each that are similar or that apply the ideas in sections 14.2-14.4 of the text? How are the tone and delivery of each piece similar? Clearly, both masters of satire are using proposal for very different ends than a serious discussion of how their country should address an issue.
Stephen Colbert Congressional Hearing – Extra Footage – Better Audio
2. In our pre-writing assignments, we generally propose more than one idea but for this one you should focus on one idea. Review the attached assignment for the essay before proceeding to make sure that your idea fits the criteria. Also, keep in mind that you will be required to find at least THREE SOURCES to support your argument. The source requirement should inform your decision of topic, but doesn’t necessarily rule out an option. Depending on the issue that you are seeking to address, you should be able to find supporting documents to cite. If you are addressing the proposal to members of your workplace, you may need to use trade journals. If you are proposing something to a larger group (i.e. church community, non-profit organization, government office) you will be able to pull on many different types of articles to support your proposal.
Your proposal for…well…your proposal essay should be clear about the issue that you are addressing, to whom you are addressing the issue, the steps that your proposal will take to address the problem, and who is responsible for following through on the proposal. This should be approximately 200-300 words and may be listed.
Answer preview to how Swift’s writing and Colbert’s presentation both employ the strategies from Chapter 14 of Argument Today
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