Whether you’re writing an article, an essay, a story, or even a poem, it’s important to know your facts. This stage of the pathway aims to help you begin finding out more about the topics which interest you, and identify reliable sources of information.
We asked writer and researcher Sujana Crawford to tell us a little about her own research methods – read her tips for getting started here.
Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’
Writing is a creative process, but a bit of research is useful whatever form you’re writing in. You might come across surprising facts, untold stories, new perspectives, shocking statistics – all material which will help your work.
Let’s get the facts in order!
Whenever you’re researching a subject, you will find that some sources of information are more reliable than others. Some may not be reliable at all. Here are some links to advice on ways to critically examine the information you encounter, especially online.
- The BBC’s ‘Real News‘ have lesson plans to help you critically examine what you find online, and work out what is real. They also have helpful resources on reporting generally. BBC Bitesize also has this useful article and video with tips for spotting fake news online.
- For Sixth Form students and teachers, this series of quick online lessons introduces fact-checking and source-checking.
Like The Orwell Youth Prize, The Orwell Prizes exist to encourage good politically-engaged writing and reporting. Why not research the work of a previous Orwell Prize winner, or read an interview with an Orwell Prize nominated journalist over on our Substack?
Where to start? (Reading, watching and listening)
Below we’ve collected some articles and programmes recommended by members of the team and our Youth Fellows to help you get started. You don’t need to start here (and you certainly don’t need to read all the suggestions!) but have a browse and see if you can find anything which helps develop your ideas further, or take them in a new direction.
Children and Freedom
Listen to the Ted Podcast ‘Should Kids Have More Freedom’ – listen here and read the transcript here. It’s all about different parenting styles and the freedom (or lack of freedom) children have in different areas of life, and in different countries and cultures.
Freedom Rising
Watch a video or two from this TedX Video series Freedom Rising. From the Arab Spring to the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe, this is a powerful series of stories of resistance against dictatorships and oppression.
AI and Freedom
Read this Forbes article about the freedom which AI could bring – and for the other side of the argument, read this Global Citizen article about how AI is affecting our freedoms and human rights. Read this report from UNICEF about what AI is and how it could affect you (and watch the short video about what young people around the world think about AI).
The Climate Crisis
Earlier this year, the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) issued a Joint Declaration on the Climate Crisis and
Freedom of Expression. They also issued this short statement, on how freedom of expression and media is crucial to tackling the climate crisis, and must be protected.
The Right to Roam
In Scotland, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe, the public have something called the ‘right to roam’ which allows anyone the freedom to enter public or private land to exercise or relax. Activists are now campaigning for the same freedom in England. Read this interview with one such activist, Nick Hayes, and check up on how the movement is progressing in this article.
Freedom and Homelessness
‘Being homeless means not being free’ – this article from The Conversation explains how being homeless compromises people’s freedom. This is also explored in many articles, videos and stories from the finalists of the 2024 Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness, including these reports from Daniel Hewitt at ITV News and Vicky Spratt at The i.
Freedom of Expression
Read about what Freedom of Expression is, how it is being threatened around the world, and how Amnesty International are working to protect it, in this article on their website.
Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist who was imprisoned in Russia in 2023 under accusations of espionage. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a mere 2 day trial, but luckily was freed in a prisoner swap between Russia and the US on the 1st of August, 2024.
Here is a video from the Wall Street Journal summarising the fight to free Evan.
And a podcast from his friend and fellow journalist Pjotr Sauer talking about the prisoner exchange that eventually resulted in his freedom.
Evan Gershkovich attended the Orwell Prize Ceremony in 2022 as the guest of his friend Polina Ivanova who was shortlisted for the prize, meaning the Foundation has closely followed his bid for freedom. Jean Seaton, director of the Orwell Prize, wrote him a letter whilst he was imprisoned, as did the Orwell Youth Fellows.
Here is an article from Polina about Evan’s imprisonment, and the value of sending him letters.
If you could write a letter to someone imprisoned, what would you say? One of Amnesty International’s biggest campaigns is their Write for Rights campaign, where they ask people to write letters to prisoners of conscience all around the world – find out more here.
Freedom of Speech
In essays like ‘The Freedom of the Press’, George Orwell famously warned that “unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban”. For Orwell, writing in the Second World War, literary censorship in England was “largely voluntary”. 
In recent years, freedom of speech – and associated debates around “cancel culture”, the “culture wars” and content moderation on social media – has become an increasingly contested topic, especially online and at universities in the United States and the UK.
In July 2020, a much-publicised open letter in the American magazine Harper’s, signed by writers like Margaret Atwood and J. K. Rowling, criticized what the authors described as a growing “illiberalism” on both the political left and the political right. The letter provoked, and crystalised, a fierce debate, with others arguing that we should focus more on “who holds power” in intellectual and political discussions.
In this speech, Observer columnist and author Kenin Mailk argues that “the freedom to offend is not an add on to freedom of expression”, while in this feature the Pew Research Centre looks at the history and current usage of the phrase ‘cancel culture’ and brings together a wide range of perspectives from members of the public in the US: the survey found “a public deeply divided, including over the very meaning of the phrase’.
Poems
Lady Freedom Among Us by Rita Dove , a poem about the statue of ‘Freedom’ on the US Congress building.
Nuns Fret Not At Their Convent’s Narrow Room by William Wordsworth – a sonnet (14 line poem) about how sometimes having limits on your freedom (like a line limit on a poem) can actually be helpful and comforting.
Prize-winning Inspiration
Below are some previous Orwell Youth Prize entries which we think might inspire you to think about this year’s theme…
Love Behind Opening Doors by 2024 Winner Florence Alsop is a short story about an older same-sex couple who gain the freedom to love each other openly following the 1967 law change.
Testament by 2024 Runner Up Yeva Paryliak is a short story set in an imagined near-future Ukraine, where the freedom to speak Ukrainian has been taken away.
Wonderland by 2024 Winner Frankie Mordecai is about the freedom (or lack of freedom) for young people to feel safe in their neighbourhood.
Men’s Shoes by 2023 Winner Lara Wong is a poem about freedom (or lack of freedom) for self-expression and gender identity.
Misconception by 2023 Winner Amelia Roles is a short story about the overturning of the right to abortion in the United States, and about the lack of freedom to make choices about one’s own body.
Obedience by 2023 Runner Up Marianne Lee is a poem about longing for the freedom of birds, to fly away and choose their own path.
New Hair, Who Dis? by 2021 Winner Faith Falayi is a spoken word poem about the limits on freedom of self-expression and cultural identity imposed by school rules.
Got your facts in order? Next, head to our Find Your Form page to start thinking about which form will allow you to best express your ideas…