Humour in Informative Writing

In class on Monday, we discussed the use of literary style in informative writing, such as philosophical essays.  One particular type of literary style which I think can be especially helpful when incorporated into such settings is humour.  While it may not help explain the content or communicate it emotionally, as beautifully crafted prose might do, it does help to keep a reader's attention and interest focused on what they are reading.  Humour and wit can aid in making an otherwise dry or pedantic text dynamic and engaging.  Furthermore, unlike metaphors or similes, humour rarely necessitates obscuring the meaning of the writing in which it appears.  It may, admittedly, extend the length of a text by adding in additional sentences or words which pertain solely to the humour rather than to the informative content of the text, but I think this is a fair trade-off considering the increased level of interest that it will likely produce in a reader.

Humour can also help readers by making a text less intimidating.  While serious students of philosophy, logic, science, or other subjects which typically require a lot of technical reading may not hesitate when faced with an intellectual, possibly tedious text, other students who have no experience with such reading may find this sort of task daunting.  A text which includes humour, which addresses the reader conversationally rather than in a more lecture-like format, may seem friendlier and easier to tackle than a purely academic work of writing.