Quote:
Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze
In reviewing The Economist Style Guide while working on a British article, I happened to reread George Orwell's "six elementary rules" for style in the introduction:
- Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print [or other media].
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut out a word, 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 outright barbarous.
Five of the rules are de rigueur for nearly everyone, but I wonder how many of us who learned to write from television, pop music and the web actually follow the first.
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He must have read William Strunk's book "The Elements of Style." Point #3 is right out of his book. i.e. 'omit needless words.'