English Grammar for the Utterly Confused - Laurie Rozakis 2003
George Orwell on Style
Chapter 14 Words and Expressions to Avoid
Part 5 Struttin Your Stuff with Style
“George Orwell” was the pen name of Eric Blair, one of the most brilliant English stylists ever. In his landmark essay “Politics and the English Language,” Orwell wrote, “Modern English prose ... consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse.” He concluded: “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.”
But Orwell didn’t just complain. Fortunately, he suggested a number of remedies. His guidelines have become the classic yardstick for a strong and effective writing style.
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(This is covered in this chapter in the section Replace Cliches with Fresh Expressions.)
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(This is covered in this chapter in the section Avoid Empty Language.)
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(This is covered in Chapter 13 in the sections Less is More: Be Concise and Three Ways to Write Concise Sentences.)
4. Never use the passive voice when you can use the active.
(This is covered in Chapter 3 in the section Active and Passive Voice.)
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(This is covered in this chapter in the section Avoid Empty Language.)
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Quick Tip
Steer clear of slanted language—emotionally loaded words and phrases designed to inflame readers. Describing a lab experiment as “viciously maiming helpless rats” is an example of slanted language. At its most offensive, slanted language descends into propaganda; at its best, slanted language merely offends readers.
