George Orwell’s 6 Rules for Writing — Improved!

“Lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia” in politics inspired cranky clear writing manifesto

The following is based on a presentation I give to students in a college writing composition course.

As a writer and thinker, George Orwell gave much thought to the relationship between language and politics. In his two dystopian novels Animal Farm and 1984, control over a population by an authoritarian regime is achieved partly through control over language. The ruling class pigs in Animal Farm are the only animals who can write. They literally write the rules, then selectively edit them in secret, counting on the short memories, poor literacy, and apathy of the other animals.

In 1984, the ruling party creates a language called Newspeak, with a limited vocabulary “designed to diminish the range of thought.” Inspired by Orwell’s novel, the word ‘newspeak’ has entered the vocabulary of English to refer to “propagandistic language that is characterized by euphemism, circumlocution, and the inversion of customary meanings” (Brittanica.com).

Politics and the English Language (1946)