Essay #3: The Value and Purpose of Humor

We will be reading and discussing several essays which introduce different points about the values and
purposes of humor beyond simple entertainment. Youll have the chance to respond to one of these in
your essay. Well also continue to talk about what an academic essay is and practice with the writing
process we go through to create an academic essay.
The Assignment
For your second out-of-class essay of the semester, you will persuade the reader to agree with your
opinion on the function of humor. In a complete academic essay, take a position by explaining one
important value or purpose of humor. Why is humor important for people beyond its simple
entertainment value? To fully answer the question, you should pull ideas from at least one of the
readings from this unit (by paraphrasing, summarizing, or quoting) and your own personal experience and
observations. You are welcome to say I if you talk about your own experience. The final draft should
have all of the parts of an academic essay: an introduction paragraph with a thesis, several focused body
paragraphs with clear topic sentences, and a conclusion paragraph. The final draft should be at least three
pages long, typed and double spaced in MLA format.
Structure and Length
The final draft should have all of the parts of an academic essay: an introduction paragraph with a thesis,
several focused body paragraphs with clear topic sentences, and a conclusion paragraph. The final draft
should be at least four pages long, typed and double spaced in MLA format.
Things to Shoot For
A clear, specific thesis statement in the introduction paragraph that directly answers the questions
in the assignment; the thesis states your stance one important value or purpose for humor beyond
entertainment value
Multiple body paragraphs that follow an organizational strategy
Body paragraphs that each focus on one specific subtopic related to the thesis; that subtopic is
clear in each body paragraphs topic sentence
Clear explanations of the key concepts from the reading
Body paragraphs that accurately summarize the reading and state and support your opinion from
the thesis
A carefully proofread final draft that is generally free of distracting and confusing sentence-level
errors and correctly cites the reading youve used
Tips for Success
Allow yourself enough time to go through the steps of the writing process (prewriting, drafting,
revising, editing)
Understand the writing assignment and respond accordingly.
Fully participate in the class Blackboard discussion so you can deepen your understanding of the
readings and get ideas for your essay
Use your Writer's Reference book and class materials to understand the parts of an essay and the
writing process and apply them to your work.
Due Date: Sunday July 24th