Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can explain how irony can arise from the difference between an argument and readers’ expectations or values. (Guide: “When words mean more than they say”; Practice question 1)
- I can distinguish verbal irony, understatement, overstatement, situational irony and satire. (Guide: “Kinds of irony you will meet”; Practice question 2)
- I can explain why irony depends on shared knowledge and can be risky. (Guide: Worked example 1, Step 5; Practice question 4)
Skills
- I can identify signals of irony: incongruity, exaggeration, understatement, clash with values and mock-formal diction. (Guide: “Signals of irony”; Practice question 3)
- I can state the surface meaning and the intended meaning of an ironic passage. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice question 5)
- I can write a short ironic passage whose signals are clear. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice question 7)
Reasoning
- I can explain the purpose of irony in a passage and its effect on the audience. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice question 6)
- I can explain how a writer signals a complex perspective with competing attitudes. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice question 6)
- I can analyse a short public-domain example, such as Johnson’s definition of oats or Austen’s opening line, for irony. (Guide: “Public-domain examples”; Practice question 8)
All ticked? Move on to the Topic 8.6 study guide, Modifiers and Parenthetical Elements.