Writing Tips
Politics and the English Language, Rule 5
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on April 21st, 2009
Rule 5: Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Nobody likes a know-it-all. For convenience’s sake, let’s refer to all language that may baffle your readers as “jargon.” Orwell feels that using jargon is “never” a good idea. In the best case, Read the full article…
Politics and the English Language, Rule 4
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on April 14th, 2009
Rule 4: “Never use the passive where you can use the active.” For most people, identifying passive voice is like finding a dangling participle in a metaphorical haystack. Let’s look at an example: Active voice: Andy embraced Vivian. Passive voice: Vivian was embraced by Andy. Not only does the active voice usually require fewer words (making Read the full article…
Politics and the English Language, Rule 3
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on April 7th, 2009
Get out your scissors for George Orwell’s 3rd rule for better writing.
Politics and the English Language, Rule 2
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on March 30th, 2009
This post is part of a series dedicated to George Orwell’s essay Politics and the English Language. Rule 2: “Never use a long word where a short one will do.” There is an important nuance to this rule: Orwell urges for truth through clarity, but not at the expense of the message. He is not Read the full article…
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