George Orwell on writing
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."Politics and the English Language", George Orwell.
2. Never us a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Technorati Tags:
1 comment:
I agree. It is all too common to see unnecessarily wordy articles and write-ups these days. The true and simple meaning is all too often hidden in a chaotic mix of lengthy words. Anyway, Orwell is one of my favs. Thanks for the link.
Post a Comment