I'm writting a defintion essay on the word "irony" would you read my intro paragraph and gimme feedback?

Question

For those of you who dont know what a defintion essayis, its basically an essay where you focus on something and attempt to desribe it fully. I picked the word "irony" pleez tell me what u think about it, thnx

Ironic, isn’t it?

Blue, red, green, orange, yellow, purple, brown, and pink. Now, what do these all have in common? Yes, that is correct. They are all…. words!!
What’s the matter? Surprised? Now let’s step back for a moment and analyze a typical reaction to the previous passage. When one normally reads the first sentence written above he/she automatically conjures up the category “colors” as a classification and his/her mind is in a state of fixation in which anything out of the ordinary(in this case anything but the word “colors”) would prove to be an instant breech upon human logic and expectancy. The moment the reader comes upon the category “word” as the answer a sudden sensation of awkwardness swarms his/her mind as if something is simply out of place. Who would have thought that the answer would be something so insignificant like “words” when the obvious and traditional answer would be “colors?” Surprisingly, that awkwardness has a name. Its name is irony.

remember this is just the intro :)

Answer 1

Some positives aspects:
+ Your intro is catchy
+ You tie in your first example very well with the rest of the paragraph: kudos!
+ That is a nice example of irony to reinforce the point that irony is a discrepancy between one's expected results and the actual results

However, it depends on what type of irony you are describing in order to tell you if this is a good definition essay or not.

If you are describing dramatic irony, this would not be a strong lead into the essay. It doesn't really describe irony as a literary device, but more as a general term.

If you did not intend to define it as a literary device, but simply wanted to write an essay describing the general idea of irony, I think it is great.

Yet, it you did intend to use it as a definition of irony as a literary device, I would suggest quoting a piece of literature as your first example of irony (Jonathan Swift or another satirist would be great).

Answer 2

I've taught high school English for years and have never heard of a 'definition essay' but what you've written certainly fits your description. You have a lovely writing style. You're clear, concise and to the point. You've used a great example. If I were to grade this, given the parameters you've described, I'd take off a couple of points for some punctuation. 1. an ellipsis has three periods, not four. 2. never, ever use more than one exclamation. 3. add a comma: as the answer, a sudden sensation... good luck!

Answer 3

I like the setup of the paragraph, but I don't really like the example you use... I'd point out the irony of the misconception of the meaning of irony. Many people think coincidence is irony -- to quote Alanis Morrisette "It's like rain on your wedding day/It's a free ride but you've already paid" -- As opposed to the incongruency between inteded and apparent meanings. After using that as my intro, I would then strengthen my "new" definition with examples (such as your color vs. word experiment) and then talk about specific types of irony ...dramatic, sarcasm, socratic. Hope my input helped.

Answer 4

I think irony has more to do with incongruity than awkwardness.

Are you from the USA? Americans (and Canadians) are infamous for not grasping the concept of irony. The trouble is, I think, that recognising irony needs a period of contemplation and North Americans don't seem to have the attention span required. Sorry.

Answer 5

Sorry, but it's just not a strong enough argument for your conclusion. We know they are colors and we know that they are words but to to try to make the fact that you would say colors seam awkward or unexpected is to much of a reach.
Ironic may be having a totally blind person tell you that the words for the colors you were describing had no true meaning to them but that the sound of how you said them did

Answer 6

You write very well but you failed to convince me that you've defined irony. Your paragraph tells me that by saying all those colors are just words means you are trying to put one over on your reader by tricking them with an opening statement that is basically meaningless. There is no paradox in your statement that the only thing all those colors have in common is that they're words. Now, if someone answered that he was color blind so those were just words to him, well that would be irony.

Answer 7

You did not indicate what level of educational studies you were writing this for, which would "color" the type of pointers I might be persuaded to share.

Therefore, I will simply say that I agree with Justin.

Also, make sure to give both traditional definitions and those that have developed from your own personal experiences.

Sorry to lie to you in paragraph number 2.

Answer 8

I don't think irony is the awkward sensation so much as the -cause- of the awkward sensation. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing.

Answer 9

The irony of this situation is that your answer completely bypasses the true essence of "irony". Check dictionary.com and try again. Sorry, but true.

Answer 10

I think you should remove the Ironic, isn't it? And replace with it as "What you would expect" As to be even more ironic =)