Logical Fallacies with Satire and Listing

Hubby came to me to get feedback on his Satire Project. Part of the project involves students examining the transcript of one of the primary debates and recording the logical fallacies. He came to me to see if I had an idea for what to do with the logical fallacies. I came up with two options: satire lists and comic creation.

Inspired by the research for my listicle article, my mind instantly went to listing.

McSweeny's has great satirical lists. Not all of them are appropriate so make sure you preview lists prior to sharing with students! One type of list they use is set up almost like a quiz. They will have two things they are comparing that could be easily confused: "Email Subject Heading from the Democratic National Convention or Text From an Emotionally Immature Friend?" and then a numbered list of statements for you to determine which was said/written/from which, then there is a small answer key at the bottom. 

How the assignment works for logical fallacies:

1. View one of the 2016 presidential primary debates for one of the two major parties, Democrats or Republicans. Read the transcript of your selected debate. Links to the transcripts of the debates are available at this site: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/debates.php.
2. Locate fallacies committed by the various candidates.
3.   Examine the fallacies and think about some other speaker for whom they could be confused to statirize he tone/maturity/logic/etc. of the debate. For example: Crazy things my uncle says at Thanksgiving or Twitter comments made by a college student who has never actually had a job
4. Refer to http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/email-subject-heading-from-the-democratic-national-committee-or-text-from-an-emotionally-immature-friend for an idea of format and tone
5. Come up with a list of fallacies you create that would mimic your made up speaker
6. Create the answer key for the bottom

Happy satirizing!

Top 5 Reasons Listicles Might Be the Next Big Thing in ELA

I remember one year going to the Abydos Conference and there were five separate sessions about graphic novels and/or comics. A form of writing once thought lacking in legitimacy, became a new genre for English teachers and a new mode for students to write. Entire books were devoted to the use of comics to teach everything from inference to how to punctuate dialogue or sequencing.

I propose listicles will be the next big thing. Why?

5. Our brains like lists. This for of writing is prevalent because it gets clicked on. It gets clicked on because our brains enjoy the ease of instantly understanding how information is placed on the page. This means having students look at a listicle may help students quickly acquire new knowledge. Or having students transform an article into a listicle may help them breakdown and understand complex information. Not to mention the love affair with lists starts young by reading listing books like Green Eggs and Ham as well as being one of the first genres of writing for many children. (My daughter had just turned two when she started making our grocery list! Needless to say, while she wrote hers, I was also writing one that I could read. But still, listing!)

4. The popularity indicates this is a genre with longevity, so why wold we ignore preparing students for genres they will encounter in the future? While listicles may be a relatively new term and list-based articles have exploded recently, listing as a form of organization is not new. From poetry to satire to satirical lists about listing, listing spans many traditional literary forms. Why not blend the genres that rely on listing as a form of organization and include a listicle, a form they will be reading in the future?

3. Listing and journaling go hand-in-hand. Teachers have use listing as a brainstorming strategy for decades - if not longer - and those who journal for pleasure can easily find books on the subjects of journaling from lists. Instead of listing to come up with one idea, a listicle asks the writer to create an organization of the list and think of each point as a something to develop in a concise and focused manner.

2. Listicles are the perfect example of how to create a topical paragraph. If you are like me, you have students who just do not "get" the idea of a topic sentence. Each paragraph is actually several ideas mashed together like warping puzzle pieces to make them fit. The great thing about a listicle is it is based on reasons, not details. Most listicles have the first sentence for each point be the topical sentence. Having students thinking of their expository or persuasive essay as a listicle - after examining and mimicking listicles - is powerful. The essay becomes "3 Reasons How Working Alone is Better Than in Groups". The organization is clearer and instructions fits a very brain-friendly (see number 1) pattern. Add in and intro and conclusion, replace the numbers with transitions, and you can help students who would otherwise get poor marks because of lack of organization and focus, create a serviceable essay.

1. Ranking listicles ask for higher level blooms. There are three main types of listicles: ranked, thematic, and random. Asking students to write in the world of ranking is the evaluating level of blooms. In order to justify their responses, they have to provide evidence and reasoning. For example, while reading a whole class text like A Midsummer Night's Dream, students who have been exposed to a listicle can brainstorm whole class what ranking listicles could be created for the text: 3 Worst Mistakes in Midsummer Ranked, 3 Biggest Fools from Midsummer Ranked, 5 Best Characters in Midsummer Ranked. By having a smaller number than the students would want, students will be forced to decide who or what makes the cut. Add in requirements for textual evidence and students are writing a literary analysis.

While listicles would not replace formal process papers, they do offer additional opportunities to write as well as support in drafting stages. No self deprecating-humor or snarky comments required!