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Laugh Out Loud: Reading

The document provides guidance on how to write a funny joke, emphasizing the importance of irony, audience consideration, and effective setup and punch lines. It explains that a joke should have a clear setup that introduces characters and context, followed by a punch line that contrasts assumptions with reality to elicit laughter. An example joke about a parrot illustrates these principles in action.

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Ahmed Haddadi
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47 views1 page

Laugh Out Loud: Reading

The document provides guidance on how to write a funny joke, emphasizing the importance of irony, audience consideration, and effective setup and punch lines. It explains that a joke should have a clear setup that introduces characters and context, followed by a punch line that contrasts assumptions with reality to elicit laughter. An example joke about a parrot illustrates these principles in action.

Uploaded by

Ahmed Haddadi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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9 Laugh Out Loud

H READING
Read the article. Then match the words and definitions.

How to Write a Funny Joke


In order to learn how to write a joke that will make people laugh, you first need to consider what makes
a joke funny. One common type of joke is one that shows the irony of a situation. This is when the listener’s
assumptions about the world are the opposite of the reality in the joke. In addition, you will need to consider
your audience. You will get more laughs over different types of jokes with your friends at school than you will
with your grandparents.
The Setup: Setting up your joke is important. The setup should tell the audience who the characters are.
Also, if it’s relevant, it should tell us where and when the joke is happening. Next, the joke should go on to
explain the details of the situation. Be careful not to make your joke too long or too confusing. Keep it simple
and stick to the point. Also, effective jokes have easy ways to differentiate the characters, like the first man
and the second man, or the father mouse and the young mouse.
The Punch Line: The first rule in writing a good joke is that every joke needs a punch line and, more
importantly, a punch word to make the audience laugh. The punch line turns the idea of the joke. Suddenly,
the audience can see that their assumptions are different than the reality of the situation in the joke. In a
well-written joke, the punch line is the last line of the joke, and the punch word is the last word of the punch
line. This is important because otherwise people don’t know when to laugh. They will start to laugh, but then
stop because they will think that the joke is not over yet.
Looking at a Joke: Now let’s look at the joke about the parrot that attends a lecture. It’s on the first page
of Unit 9 of your Student Book. The joke starts:
A student with a parrot on his shoulder leaves a lecture theater. Another student follows him…
This gives us a clear picture of who the characters are (a student, a parrot, and another student), where
the characters are (outside a lecture theater), and when it is taking place (after the lecture).
The joke continues:
He stops him and says, “I’m sorry to bother you, but I have to say, I was astonished by your parrot’s
remarkable reaction to the lecture on ancient history. He seemed frightened at the frightening parts, sad at
the depressing parts, fascinated at the interesting parts, and amused at the funny parts. I could have sworn
I even heard it laugh. I have to say, I was amazed. Don’t you find it surprising?” “Yes,” he replies, “I was very
surprised…”
This is the body of the joke. It explains what has happened. (The parrot was listening to the lecture and
seemed to understand it.) It also gives us a clear picture of the other student’s assumption (which is likely
shared by the audience) that parrots shouldn’t be able to understand lectures. The student’s question “Don’t
you find it surprising?” indicates that he assumes the student with the parrot will agree with him, and when
he says “I was very surprised” it seems to be confirmed.
The joke finishes:
He hated the class!
“He hated the class!” is the punch line, and “class” is the punch word. By mention of the word “class”
the audience knows that the parrot can attend class, and the student thinks it’s normal. This juxtaposes the
assumption of the listener with the reality of the situation, which in turn, makes the audience laugh!

1. ___ irony a. be a sign of


2. ___ assumption b. when the reality is the opposite of the meaning
3. ___ audience c. guess
4. ___ stick to the point d. put beside; contrast
5. ___ indicate e. people that are listening or watching
6. ___ juxtapose f. stay on topic
Unit 9 317

MG_02_COMBO_TEXT_2024.indb 317 30/4/24 2:33 AM

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