English 1A

Essay #3: The Value and Purpose of Humor

We will be reading and discussing several essays that 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 third 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 four pages long, typed and double
spaced in MLA format. Don't forget to include the internal citation and the Works Cited Page.
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
Complete the assigned reading and do some prewriting
Ask questions
Fully participate in the class discussions so you can deepen your understanding of the
reading and get ideas for your essay
Use your Writing Handbook if you're unsure of MLA documentation rules.