Satirical Essay Writing Examples and Basic Explanations 2021 Update
Not all essays are meant to be sound serious and forbidding. At times, essays can be quite fun to read. Satirical essays is one best example of a highly entertaining essay. But first, let us determine what is satire and what is a satire essay and I will proceed to tell you more.
Satirical Essay Writing: What is Satire and Satirical Essay?
Merriam-Webster defines satire as a literary work that uses wit, irony, or sarcasm to expose and ridicule human vices or foolishness. Satire is most prevalent in literary works like books, poems, essays, songs, and even in films. Using satire is a literary piece is one way of showing one’s humor creatively.
It is also one way of putting a subtle constructive criticism to the shortcomings of a certain topic that an author is discussing (may it be related to politics, social change, celebrities, etc).
Satirical essays are meant to write factual information about a certain topic but twist it to make it appear comical. Your readers will be more engrossed in reading satire essays since not only they will be entertained they will also gain more knowledge about a certain topic.
Satirical Essay Writing: How to Write a Satire Essay?
1. Familiarize first how to write a satire essay
When writing a satire essay, it is important to know that you have a strong motive to address your views and opinion over a specific issue you care about.
Even if it is opinionated in its form, you can put your perspective of this certain issue and spin it to make it funny, don’t forget to always provide the factual information of the topic you are writing about.
2. Choose the right topic to write
In choosing a topic to write about, it’s best to know what topic are you want to write about. It must be something that you are highly interested in.
Otherwise, if you choose a topic you are not really into it or not familiar with, you get bored in writing halfway to it. Another key point to consider is to choose a topic or an issue that is relevant to society and is relatable to everyone.
The best examples of topics to choose from are:
- politics
- current events
- health or environmental issues
- celebrities
- human vices
- holiday celebrations
- social media
It is also helpful to familiarize yourself with these topics by watching or reading the news. These kinds of topics are what people mostly have their stand, so it’s best to choose it as you will get reactions from your readers. Don’t forget the point of writing essays is for the readers to read it. Getting reactions, whether favorable or not, means you have successfully done your job.
3. Get to the point
Finally, after poring and musing and deciding the topic you want to discuss, it’s time to figure out, what is the point of this essay I am writing about? The things you want to consider are:
What is your stand in this certain topic? Do you rule favor or not?, How can you make this topic ironic? Once you have figured out your point, you have a clear and strong idea of what will you write about.
4. Know your audience
It’s crucial for you as a writer to know who is the audience you are writing to. Are you writing for professional readers? Or the students? These different groups of people have their preference or style of writing. The professionals might want a formal style of writing or the students might want a casual style.
The point is, by identifying your readers, it’s better to be more relatable towards them. To help you adjust your style of writing to your specific audience, here are the questions you need to answer: How do you write in a casual or formal style of writing? How do you write this essay if you are writing for young people?
5. Now it’s time to write
Now you already have a gist on writing a satire essay. You already know what topic you will discuss and what will be your main point, and you already identified who will be your audience.
Now it’s time to write down your outstanding essay. Of course, for it to be outstanding, you need some tips to make your essay interesting to read.
Familiarize yourself with the figures of speech to use when writing a satire essay to make it more engaging to your readers. Examples of figures of speech you can use are:
Hyperbole: The use of exaggerated words for heightened effect on the reader.
My high-heeled shoes are killing me!
Irony: It is the use of words used to convey the opposite of its literal meaning.
A person looking out at his window while it was raining hard. He exclaims, “What beautiful weather we are having today.”
Metaphor: A figure of speech that implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in common.
You have a heart of stone.
Pun: Is described as ‘a play on words’. Its structure can be on different senses of the same word or sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.
“Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York…” an excerpt from William Shakespeare Richard III (Act 1 scene 1). The context of this statement by the character Richard III is that he was the son of the Duke of York.
Understatement: This type of figure of speech is when a speaker intentionally makes a situation or a person less important than it is.
“It was rather a serious evening, you know.” Shipwreck survivor Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, as he described the sinking of the Titanic.
You may also look up some hyperbole examples, and irony examples to familiarize yourself with these figures of speech.
If you’re struggling with picking good satire topics, check out this example below
Satirical Essay Writing Example
Cultural Influences On Obesity In The Bahamas
Obesity is a growing epidemic in the Bahamian society and one of the biggest issues we face in our flawed humanity. Obesity is defined as excessive weight gain which results in health risks such as diabetes, heart disease, and so forth.
The rising prevalence of obesity in The Bahamas has become a normalized standard in our culture resulting in high risks to chronic non-communicable diseases. In the article, “Tackling Obesity in The Bahamas”, Larry Smith examines the steadily growing obesity epidemic that individuals suffer from in our country.
He states several explanations for the rising obesity rate and he also draws attention to the nonchalant views our society holds for healthy living. The Bahamian people have grown accustomed to obesity and as a result it has become an inherent part of our culture.
In fact, the Bahamian culture generates obesity through its poor diet, lack of nutritional education and lack of discipline for exercise. Our poor diet and food choices has contributed significantly to health risks such as obesity.
Food is an inherent part of the Bahamian culture with influences from Spain, England and the American South proving our diet is diverse and rich in flavor. However, despite the many cultural influences and traditions from around the world, the food is nutritionally depraved.
Our food choices consist of poorly prepared foods that do not follow dietary guidelines for a balanced diet. The typical Bahamian Sunday dinner consists of deep-fried chicken, cheese coated baked macaroni, fattening peas and rice, fried plantains etc.
These foods may seem appetizing but are saturated in fat, sugar, starch and salt, meanwhile there are very few dishes that are nutritionally balanced. Continuously eating these unhealthy and dreadful foods will ultimately lead to a life of obesity.
In addition to our unbalanced diets, Bahamians constantly snack in between meals. Instead of consuming healthy snacks such as fruits, nuts and vegetables, Bahamians eat chips or candies which have low nutritional content.
Also, there is no limitations with the amount of highly seasoned foods that Bahamians consume. Our large portion sizes have also been linked to our obesity rate. Bahamians consume vast amounts of unhealthy foods that are not essential for the body.
Bahamians often splurge and indulge in overeating large amounts of food with a lack of self-control. Overeating unhealthy foods only provides satiety and the large number of calories consumed can result in weight gain.
In Smith’s article, he states that food has become more readily available for the public consumption. Our rapid cultural change to society has shifted away from our usual healthy foods to westernized diets and eating styles.
With the convenience of American fast food establishments like Wendy’s, KFC, Popeyes, Bahamians are now not only eating more unhealthy foods but also doing so more frequently with easier access.
American fast food franchises are so established in the Bahamas that they are now considered part of the Bahamian culture. Along with American fast food restaurants, The Bahamas has established some of its own restaurants such as Bamboo Shack and Sammy’s Chicken.
Many people can find these restaurants near their homes. With the high intake of calories from these fast foods, individuals will potentially obtain unhealthy eating habits, which will result in obesity.
Additionally, within our culture, the lack of nutritional education within our school systems has failed to teach students about nutrition and thus further contributes to obesity.
Lack of knowledge of nutritional value comes from the level of education one has received. Many Bahamians are unaware of their eating habits Courses in the school curriculum, such as Food and Nutrition and Biology that address obesity and chronic illnesses, are optional and not made mandatory for students.
These classes that are placed in the curriculum serves to educate individuals on nutrition and serves as an important source of student health. Courses such as Food and Nutrition should be used as an effective means on how to make healthier life choices and tackle the on-going obesity problem and therefore should be made mandatory.
However, because of the choice to make these courses optional in the curriculum, the availability to students to gain important information regarding health is difficult. As a result, many students are ignorant about healthy living.
Also, physical education in school is offered about once a week. This course helps promote healthy living outside the typical classroom setting and provide opportunities to stay active. Its purpose is to get students engage in high quality exercise.
With only offering class once a week, students are unable to get the regular exercise. Furthermore, many schools do not offer a large variety of food during lunch. Some schools do not encourage healthy living because they do provide healthy lunches for students and thus they do not have the opportunity to eat healthy.
Due to the lack of nutritional knowledge students tend to pick the unhealthy foods offered. The lunch that is served lack the nutritional value that is crucial for an individual’s health. These lunches include foods such as fried chicken, fries, ribs, etc.
In the article, Smith presents several statistics regarding childhood obesity. He reveals that 10% of 1st grade students, 18% of 6th grade students, and ¼ of 10th grade students are obese. These statistics displays the upcoming problem of obesity in the youth.
The food served at the cafeteria is of low quality and are non-nutrient dense. Some students tend to purchase lunch from school as they are unable to bring theirs from home and it is also inexpensive.
Lastly, the lack of discipline for exercise for many Bahamian people increase obesity within our society. One reason is that The Bahamas does not prioritize exercise as an important aspect in our society. Smith reveals in his article that 70% of Bahamians between the ages of 21 and 60 are obese.
This is mostly caused due to the lack of exercise. Individuals tend to look at exercise as a means to only lose weight and not as a lifestyle. When persons achieve their goal, many of them tend to abandon the lifestyle of regular exercise and eventually retreat to their old routine.
Persons retreating to their old routines will influence unhealthy life choices thus resulting in health risks. Also, some Bahamians look for excuses as to why fitness is not a priority in their life such as they cannot find the time to exercise.
Exercise serves as a great tool to weight maintenance and promote healthy life choices.Moreover, many people in the Bahamas have sedentary jobs that require moderate exercise. In some cases, people that have jobs that do not require a lot of physical activity often eat lunches that are heavily saturated in fat and sugar.
They consume so much that they do not exercise the amount they intake. With this, persons do not burn calories during their working hours resulting in weight gain. Sedentary lifestyle has contributed to weight related conditions such as obesity.
The alarming number of individuals with obesity in the Bahamas has become an issue affecting the wellbeing of our people. The Bahamian people have become susceptible to obesity and its negative influences.
The many cultural attributions such as our poor diet, lack of discipline for exercise, and lack of nutritional education has made Bahamians vulnerable to obesity. To reduce the risk of obesity it is essential to reduce the intake of unhealthy food and replace them with more nutritionally balanced foods.
Also, the education system needs to promote exercise and the benefits it has towards individuals’ health. “You cannot buy health, you must earn it through healthy living” is a quote stated by Joel Fuhrman, who emphasizes the need for healthy living and help individuals on the right path towards leading a better lifestyle.
Now that you have mastered writing a satire essay, don’t forget to have some fun while writing it. It is more enjoyable to write since you are allowed to put your creativity and your personal views into your essay.
However, don’t forget to cite facts to make your essay credible. But don’t forget that the main essence of a satire essay is to persuade your readers to agree with your opinion. So be persuasive, be creative, and showcase your talent in comedy in your satire essay.
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CSN Team.
