All posts by Christopher Waugh

“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.” (Katherine Mansfield)

Homework: Select a sample of rich language

In spite of being the author of the quotation “Good prose should be transparent, like a window pane.” Orwell’s writing is rich with grammatical complexity and textured imagery. Find for yourself some examples of his deft

The Death of Truth

These are the articles I read to the class about some of the historical antecedents to Nineteen Eighty-Four

Novel Study: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

NCEA 3.1: Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence

Grammar of Satire – Writing Task

After our short study of the Grammar of Satire, it’s time to have a go at writing a satirical piece in your own right. Here are some suggestions as to how you might get going:

The Grammar of Satire – School, by Thabit Choudhury

School. It’s an amazing thing. There’s nothing a 15-year-old boy loves more than getting up at 6:30, eager to educate himself.

Grammar of Satire – Trident, by Frankie Boyle

I wrote a joke the other day, along the lines of: “Our greatest fear is that we die alone – which is why I intend to take quite a few people with me.”

Grammar of Satire – A Postcard from Russia

The most exciting way of getting into Russia is to cross Germany in a sealed train and arrive at the Finland Station in St Petersburg to be greeted by a cheering revolutionary mob who promptly rename the city after you.

The Grammar of Satire

This language project forms an investigation into the underlying grammar of satirical writing. We’ll be exploring satirical work covering three centuries of social criticism and the project will culminate in your writing of your own

What is Satire?

Some examples of political and social satire to get the conversation started