Orwell's Rules for Clear Writing

Overview

Six rules from George Orwell's 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language." They fight vague, pretentious, stale writing.

The Rules

1. Kill Dead Metaphors

Never use a metaphor, simile, or figure of speech you see often in print.

❌ "tip of the iceberg"
❌ "low-hanging fruit"
❌ "move the needle"
❌ "at the end of the day"
❌ "think outside the box"

✅ Say what you mean directly
✅ Create fresh comparisons if needed

2. Prefer Short Words

Never use a long word where a short one works.

3. Cut Ruthlessly

If you can cut a word, cut it.

❌ "in order to" → ✅ "to"
❌ "due to the fact that" → ✅ "because"
❌ "at this point in time" → ✅ "now"
❌ "in the event that" → ✅ "if"
❌ "a large number of" → ✅ "many"
❌ "is able to" → ✅ "can"
❌ "in spite of the fact" → ✅ "although"
❌ "for the purpose of" → ✅ "for" or "to"

4. Use Active Voice

Never use passive when active works.

❌ "The file was deleted by the user"
✅ "The user deleted the file"

❌ "The bug was introduced in v2.3"
✅ "We introduced the bug in v2.3" or "v2.3 introduced the bug"

❌ "It was decided that..."
✅ "We decided..." or "[Person] decided..."

5. Plain English Over Jargon

Never use foreign phrases, scientific words, or jargon when everyday English works.

❌ "per se" → ✅ "by itself" or "as such"
❌ "a priori" → ✅ "beforehand" or "in advance"
❌ "paradigm shift" → ✅ "big change"
❌ "synergy" → ✅ "working together"
❌ "bandwidth" (for time) → ✅ "time" or "capacity"
❌ "circle back" → ✅ "return to" or "discuss later"

Exception: Technical terms with no plain equivalent are fine. "API", "cache", "async" have specific meanings—don't dumb them down.

6. Break Rules to Avoid Barbarism

Break any rule rather than say something ugly or unclear.

If following rules makes your writing worse, don't follow them. Clarity beats dogma.

Quick Check

Before finalizing text, ask:

1. •Any stale phrases I've read a hundred times? → Replace or cut
2. •Any long words with shorter equivalents? → Swap
3. •Any words I can delete without losing meaning? → Delete
4. •Any passive sentences that hide the actor? → Make active
5. •Any jargon my reader won't know? → Translate
6. •Does it sound natural when read aloud? → If not, rewrite

Common Mistakes

When NOT to Apply

• •Direct quotes (keep original wording)
• •Legal/regulatory text (precision required)
• •Established API names or technical terms
• •When audience expects formal register