How to Write a Funny Essay About Myself

A funny, intelligent essay has the potential to be very memorable.

Writing any type of essay about yourself can be challenging, as it's hard to examine your life with objectivity and clarity--two things you often need to write an essay that's cohesive and well-organized. It's especially tricky to write a funny essay, since this requires you to laugh at yourself with a self-deprecating yet intelligent quality, without veering off-topic. However, humorous essays, when written well, can often be very effective elements of applications for jobs or for universities, due to their funny nature and memorable quality.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pen
• Computer

Instructions

1. Write down your thesis on a separate piece of paper. Take as much time as you need to come up with your thesis. For this type of descriptive essay, having a thesis is going to better organize your work, as it will shape and tailor each funny piece of information that you include so that the essay flows in a more organized manner. For example, an appropriate thesis could be "I'm never afraid to try new things" or "I'd make a great dog-trainer."

2. Write down an amusing anecdote that supports your thesis and type it out as the first few sentences of your opening paragraph. For example, if your thesis is, "I would make a good travel writer," tell a funny story about something that happened to you during your travels. On the other hand, if your thesis is "I belong at Georgetown University," tell a humorous story that directly supports this idea, and that showcases qualities in you that you think a student at this university should have. To make sure your anecdote is amusing enough to include, tell a friend or family member your anecdote. You'll know if it's funny if he smiles or laughs when hearing it.

3. Write down two reasons on a separate piece of paper that directly support your thesis. Try to come up with reasons that are silly or sarcastic. For example, if you think you'd be a good travel writer, one reason might be that you enjoy waiting in airport lines, or another reason might be that you enjoy getting diarrhea from exotic foods.

4. Write out an explanation for each reason, either in a silly, sarcastic manner or by giving funny examples. Thus, you could write that you enjoy learning languages no matter how many embarrassing mistakes you make. Then give an example of a mistake that you once made in a foreign language, such as mixing up the word for "shower" and "water" and how you dealt with the situation. Always test your material on other people you know to see if they find your examples funny.

5. Type out your first reason as the first sentence of your second paragraph. The body of this paragraph should be the explanation that you wrote out.

6. Type out your second reason as the first sentence of your third paragraph. The supporting sentences that follow as the body of this paragraph should be the explanation that you wrote out.

7. Write the first sentence of your concluding paragraph by restating your thesis in a new way. Briefly recap the points that you've made. For example, if your thesis is "I'm never afraid to try new things," you could write, "In conclusion, seeking out new experiences never intimidates me."

8. Visit a website that has famous quotes divided by topic, such as QuotationsPage.com or Useful-Information.info. Search by topic and find a funny quote that best summarizes or agrees with your thesis. Use that as the final sentence for your conclusion. The funnier your quote is, the more memorable your essay will be. However, stay away from quotes that are vulgar or off-topic. For example, for the last sentence of an essay about your experiences and thoughts on travel, you could write: "In the words of comedian Steven Wright, 'Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.'"

Tips & Warnings

• You could also use the quote that you find as the heading underneath the title on the first page of your essay.

References

• "How to Write Funny;" John B. Kachuba; 2001.

Resources

• Useful Information: Quotations
• Quotations Page