More practice with the language you're learning
Supplementary support — grammar, vocabulary, speaking and review — built from language already taught in the course. Not a lesson, and never a test.
1.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**Irony**: 'A perfect day for a meeting at 8 a.m.' (in heavy rain)"
2.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**Parody**: 'Call me Steve. Some time ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or nothing in particular to interest me on LinkedIn…' (parodies Moby-Dick to mock corporate self-importance)"
3.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**Pastiche**: 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' (a contemporary novelist's affectionate echo of Orwell)"
4.Write an IRONIC restatement of: 'I look forward to the all-hands meeting.'
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'I look forward to the all-hands meeting with the kind of joy usually reserved for dental work.'
5.Write the OPENING line of a PARODY of motivational LinkedIn posts.
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'At 4 a.m. last Tuesday, I made a decision that would change the entire course of my morning.'
6.Mini-context: someone disagrees with you in a meeting. Reply in two turns, using this structure at least once.
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IRONY = saying the opposite (or askance) of what you mean, signalled by tone, context or readerly knowledge. PARODY = imitating a recognisable style or work in order to mock it (target: the original). PASTICHE = imitating a style with affection and without mockery (target: nothing; the imitation is the point). Layered work mixes all three.
1.Sort these into "positive", "neutral" and "critical" in tone, and be ready to defend a borderline case: deadpan, tongue-in-cheek, to lampoon, to send up (something), knowing (adj.), to land (the satire)
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deadpan — delivered without visible emotion, leaving the joke or irony to the listener | tongue-in-cheek — intended humorously despite a serious surface | to lampoon — to mock pointedly through exaggeration | to send up (something) — to imitate something in order to make it look ridiculous | knowing (adj.) — showing awareness that the reader is in on the joke | to land (the satire) — to make the satirical aim hit its actual target
2.Odd one out: which of these is least like "deadpan" in meaning or use — tongue-in-cheek / to lampoon / to send up (something)? Explain why.
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Compare against: delivered without visible emotion, leaving the joke or irony to the listener
3.Odd one out: which of these is least like "tongue-in-cheek" in meaning or use — to lampoon / to send up (something) / knowing (adj.)? Explain why.
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Compare against: intended humorously despite a serious surface
4.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to lampoon" in meaning or use — to send up (something) / knowing (adj.) / to land (the satire)? Explain why.
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Compare against: to mock pointedly through exaggeration
5.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to send up (something)" in meaning or use — knowing (adj.) / to land (the satire) / deadpan? Explain why.
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Compare against: to imitate something in order to make it look ridiculous
6.Semantic map: place "deadpan" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
7.Semantic map: place "tongue-in-cheek" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
8.Semantic map: place "to lampoon" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
9.Mini-dialogue: write four lines in which two of this lesson's words appear naturally.
1.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "deadpan" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
2.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "tongue-in-cheek" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
3.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to lampoon" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
4.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to send up (something)" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
5.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "deadpan" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: Her deadpan delivery is what makes the line cut.
6.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "tongue-in-cheek" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: The whole paragraph is tongue-in-cheek, but the underlying argument is real.
7.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to lampoon" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: The piece lampoons the entire genre while quietly admiring one of its writers.
8.Rewrite one sentence from your last piece of writing, swapping a weak combination for a precise one from this lesson.
1.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**Irony**: 'A perfect day for a meeting at 8 a.m.' (in heavy rain)"
2.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**Parody**: 'Call me Steve. Some time ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or nothing in particular to interest me on LinkedIn…' (parodies Moby-Dick to mock corporate self-importance)"
3.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**Pastiche**: 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' (a contemporary novelist's affectionate echo of Orwell)"
4.Diplomatic vs direct: soften this, then sharpen it. Which version would you actually use, and to whom? "Which rewrite is hardest to write convincingly?"
5.Compress: express the idea behind "Her deadpan delivery is what makes the line cut." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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delivered without visible emotion, leaving the joke or irony to the listener
6.Compress: express the idea behind "The whole paragraph is tongue-in-cheek, but the underlying argument is real." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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intended humorously despite a serious surface
7.Compress: express the idea behind "The piece lampoons the entire genre while quietly admiring one of its writers." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to mock pointedly through exaggeration
8.Read one of your own paraphrases aloud. Which word choice is doing the most work? Replace everything around it.
1.Rank and justify: order the ideas in Which rewrite is hardest to write convincingly? / Why does straight attack lose force? / Where in the original is the most layered moment? from most to least convincing. Defend your top choice.
2.Role-play: Five minutes joint analysis. Ten minutes writing. Two minutes reading aloud. Take the position you least agree with.
3.Decision task: you have two minutes to reach a single recommendation on 200-word piece + one sentence naming the target and one sentence naming the technique.. State it in one sentence.
4.Now switch sides and argue the opposite for 60 seconds. Which language had to change?
5.Follow-up — push further: Passage A: an op-ed defending early-morning meetings. Add a counter-example.
6.Follow-up — push further: Passage B: a fake foreword to an imaginary self-help book. Add a counter-example.
1.Paragraph ordering: draft your four topic sentences only, then decide their best order and say why.
2.Partial writing: write only the concession paragraph of Write a 200–220-word satirical column on a target of your choice (a real institution, a genre, a trend). You MUST: (a) use AT LEAST two of irony, parody, pastiche, (b) name the target clearly without ever attacking it head-on, (c) include at least three target items in a 50-word author's note, (d) stay knowing rather than angry throughout. — 60–80 words.
3.Editing pass: cut 15% of your words without losing content. What went first?
4.Audience switch: rewrite your opening for a hostile reader, then for a sympathetic one.
5.Self-check: underline every repeated word and replace two with precise choices from this lesson.
1.Look at the second sentence of today's excerpt. Write ONE sentence on whether it is ironic, parodic or pastiche, and ONE on how you can tell. Aloud.
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Ask: WHO would say this sincerely? If your answer is 'no one would', the writer is being ironic or sending something up.
2.Distractor analysis — why is this tempting, and what would give it away? Options that paraphrase the surface meaning (e.g. 'the writer admires corporate ritual') ignore the pastiche layer — the surface IS the trap.
3.Distractor analysis — why is this tempting, and what would give it away? Tone words ('amused', 'admiring', 'critical') are deliberately near-synonyms; only one captures BOTH irony and affection.
4.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — What is the IRONY here?
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The writer praises what they plainly find absurd; the praise is itself the critique.
5.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — What is being PASTICHED?
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The voice of a Victorian / Edwardian essayist — measured cadence, polite hedging, comparative gravity.
6.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Who or what is being LAMPOONED?
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Corporate ritual, but with affection — and, more sharply, the self-importance of organisations that mistake performance for productivity.
7.Key word transformation: rewrite "**Irony**: 'A perfect day for a meeting at 8 a.m.' (in heavy rain)" using the structure from Irony, parody, pastiche, in 3–8 words.
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IRONY = saying the opposite (or askance) of what you mean, signalled by tone, context or readerly knowledge. PARODY = imitating a recognisable style or work in order to mock it (target: the original). PASTICHE = imitating a style with affection and without mockery (target: nothing; the imitation is the point). Layered work mixes all three.
8.Reflection: which part of this task type costs you most time, and what will you do differently next time?
1.True, false or not stated? Decide for each, then correct the false ones: "The writer praises what they plainly find absurd; the praise is itself the critique." · "The voice of a Victorian / Edwardian essayist — measured cadence, polite hedging, comparative gravity." · "Corporate ritual, but with affection — and, more sharply, the self-importance of organisations that mistake performance for productivity."
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What is the IRONY here? → The writer praises what they plainly find absurd; the praise is itself the critique. | What is being PASTICHED? → The voice of a Victorian / Edwardian essayist — measured cadence, polite hedging, comparative gravity. | Who or what is being LAMPOONED? → Corporate ritual, but with affection — and, more sharply, the self-importance of organisations that mistake performance for productivity.
2.Retrieval race: in 60 seconds, list every word from this lesson you can remember, then check what you missed.
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deadpan, tongue-in-cheek, to lampoon, to send up (something), knowing (adj.), to land (the satire)
3.Use "deadpan" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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delivered without visible emotion, leaving the joke or irony to the listener
4.Use "tongue-in-cheek" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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intended humorously despite a serious surface
5.Use "to lampoon" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to mock pointedly through exaggeration
6.Teach it back: explain Irony, parody, pastiche to someone who has never met it, in under 45 seconds.
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IRONY = saying the opposite (or askance) of what you mean, signalled by tone, context or readerly knowledge. PARODY = imitating a recognisable style or work in order to mock it (target: the original). PASTICHE = imitating a style with affection and without mockery (target: nothing; the imitation is the point). Layered work mixes all three.
7.What's the difference between satire you admire and satire you find smug?