Comedic Writing

The Good

Can you and should you craft a comedic argument? When it comes to comedy, there is a right time and a wrong time. For my academic essay that touches on projected food trends of the Cherokee people, individuals that have continuously been subjugated, it probably would be best to stray away from comedic qualities. But, what about a more lighthearted academic essay, like arguing for a weekly pizza party or banning carpet in bathrooms; should comedy have a space in these types of academic essays?

    Laughs can have a place in a place in academic writing. An example of this is “8 Strategies for Critically Engaging Secondary Sources” adapted by Mark Gaipa. The article contains several silly stick figure cartoons, but at the same time, these cartoons are accompanied by text that gives useful advice on how to interact with secondary sources. For example, the second strategy listed says, “Agree with a scholar to gain evidence and authority. Possibly go on to defend the scholar from attack by another scholar, thus resolving a larger controversy,” and to accompany this text there is a cartoon of a little stick figure telling a substantially taller stick figure with a graduation cap that “‘and I’ve read all your books,’” (Gaipa 1). For this article, the comedic elements meshed well with the academic guidance. The humorous cartoons were a unique rhetorical strategy because of their pathos appeal that made an academic-focused article, which can be dull, quite enjoyable.

The Bad

            Although there are instances where comedy can be a great strategy in academic essays, I do think there are times when it should be discouraged. As mentioned before, I don’t believe humor should be in essays about certain subjects like my essay topic, but another area where it should be avoided is counterarguments. In an article titled “Argument” by The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill it states, “When you are summarizing opposing arguments, be charitable. Present each argument fairly and objectively, rather than trying to make it look foolish.” If you add comedy to the counterargument section of your essay, you could fall into this very trap of coming off as someone that believes the opposing argument is nonsense rather than being viewed as an ethical writer that considers the opposing arguments seriously.

The Ugly

            Incorporating humor into an argumentative, academic essay is tricky, and it is something that I and others typically avoid. You are at the risk of not seeming to care about what you are writing or offending someone. However, using comedy is a risk that more people should take because who says that argumentative academic writings can’t be funny? Two things writers should consider in these comedic essays are that the sources should speak to each other and they should be careful with their signal phrases. In “Identifying a Conversation” it says, “There are many ways to put sources together to make a conversation. You might think of it like a puzzle, except that you have some control over how the pieces are shaped,” (Carabelli). It is necessary for writers, especially those that want to incorporate comedy, to have their information from their sources flow into each other like a conversation. Incorporating intertwining information from scholars can boost the credibility of writers that integrate unserious jokes or stories. 

    Lastly, writers that want to incorporate humor into their essays should use signal phrases that make the shift from humorless to humorous clear. A signal phrase is “a phrase, clause, or even sentence which leads into a quotation or statistic” (Hacker). If a writer is quoting something that is designed to be a joke, they should make that clear before the quote via a signal phrase, or a sentence following the quote.  

Works Cited

Carabelli, Jason. “Identifying a Conversation.” Writing Commons, 30 Nov. 2022, https://writingcommons.org/article/identifying-a-conversation/. 

Gaipa, Mark. 8 Strategies for Critically Engaging Secondary Sources.

Hacker, Diana. “Signal Phrases.” Signal Phrases, https://department.monm.edu/english/mew/signal_phrases.htm.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Argument.” The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 14 June 2021, https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/argument/.