Instructor Dowling
Devil’s Advice
Writing a Proposal
With this in-class assignment, you are to write a proposal that advocates something you might
find shocking. This technique, called giving Devil’s Advice, can be an extremely useful device
in your essays because it simultaneously disarms and engages the reader. Writing tongue-incheek satire is hard to do, primarily because inexperienced writers are often too concerned with
writing “correctly” to give their creative muscles a good flex.
A Devil’s Advice proposal will to all of these things in its body:
 state a slimy proposition and provide “supporting” increasingly slimy reasoning
 cite authorities (real or invented)
 offer examples of “beneficial” outcomes, answer objections with absurd assurances
 predict consequences if your idea is implemented and make it sound extraordinary
It is important to remember the premise of 1) exaggeration of an ironic statement that appears
to be agreeable. Then, you must 2) dismiss objections a reader might have with slimy
reasoning, false logic, etc. This second part is important! It gives the irony “teeth”!
Here are some topics that may test your skills at Devil’s Advice:
Beat your children
Cheat on your significant other
Lie to the government
Pull teeth instead of doing dental work
Drink alcohol for every meal
Return all immigrants to native country ASAP
Smoking is good for your health
Solve a social issue by hanging
Marry your cousin
Abolish clothing
Pets are for food, not for companionship
Children should rule government
Write a two page paper of Devil’s Advice. Be sure it is legible and as grammatically accurate
as possible. Be sure to cover all the points mentioned above and be CREATIVE!