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by jfb 4656 days ago
(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.

(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.

(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

[1] https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm

1 comments

Thank you for linking this. English is a second language to me, and reading that list i found i've been following those rules a lot and have been getting grumpy about people who didn't and made it difficult to understand them. Now i can point those people at that essay.