Sometimes it’s worth turning to the masters for advice on being a better writer. These six rules are from George Orwell’s 1946 essay Politics and the English Language and is far more succinct than I could ever manage:
- Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.
My longer version of this is here: Cut the jargon and become a better business and tech writer.
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