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Parody Tone and Style

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Parody Tone and Style

Read the original texts below closely. When analysing, support claims with specific words or structural choices. When writing, aim for a clear target, a recognisable borrowed style, and a deliberate comic or critical effect.

Read the two texts

Both texts parody public announcements about an everyday issue: notifications on a phone. TEXT A — OFFICIAL NOTICE The Department of Personal Efficiency advises residents that notifications may be received at any time. Residents are encouraged to respond promptly to maintain continuity of communication. A brief pause for sleep is permitted, provided all outstanding alerts are reviewed upon waking. TEXT B — BREAKING NEWS Nation’s phone discovers human has been asleep for seven hours; immediately sends 46 notifications to confirm the situation remains urgent. Sources say the phone is “just checking in” and has no plans to stop.

1.Which text uses a deadpan, bureaucratic voice to create its parody? Choose the best answer and explain what makes the voice effective.

Text A: its official wording treats an unreasonable expectation as ordinary policy.
Text A: its narrator openly mocks the reader with jokes and insults.
Text B: its narrator sounds like a formal government department.
Neither text: both use an emotional, personal voice.

2.In Text B, identify one example of personification and one example of exaggeration. Explain how each contributes to the humour.

3.Compare the tone of Text A with the tone of Text B. Name a feature of each text that produces its tone.

4.Match each technique to the clearest example from Text A or Text B. Techniques: 1. Bureaucratic diction; 2. Mock-news framing; 3. Personification; 4. Hyperbole. Examples: A. “46 notifications”; B. “The Department of Personal Efficiency advises”; C. “BREAKING NEWS”; D. The phone is “just checking in”.

1. Bureaucratic diction
2. Mock-news framing
3. Personification
4. Hyperbole

C. “BREAKING NEWS”
A. “46 notifications”
D. The phone is “just checking in”
B. “The Department of Personal Efficiency advises”

5.Text A says, “A brief pause for sleep is permitted.” Explain how this understatement works as parody, and identify the attitude it suggests towards constant availability.

6.True or false? Give a brief reason for each statement. a) Parody must make its target unmistakable by naming it directly. b) A serious-sounding style can make an absurd idea funnier. c) Changing the narrator or register can change the effect of a parody.

TrueFalse

Try a different voice

Use one of the everyday targets below: a queue that barely moves, a password with impossible rules, or a weather app that changes its forecast repeatedly. You may choose a different everyday target if you can make it clear.

7.Write a two-sentence parody of one target from the prompt. Use an exaggerated, dramatic tone. Make the target recognisable and include at least one deliberate style choice.

8.Rewrite your idea from Question 7 as a two-sentence formal public notice. Keep the same target, but create a deadpan effect by treating an unreasonable situation as normal procedure.

9.Compare your versions from Questions 7 and 8. Explain how changing tone and style changed the humour or criticism, using one specific detail from each version.

10.In 80–120 words, explain what your parody suggests about the behaviour or convention you chose. Describe one choice you made about voice, tone or style and how it guides the reader towards that interpretation.