Politics and the English Language

Orwell's six rules for writing clear prose — never use a metaphor you have seen before, never use a long word where a short one will do, if it is possible to cut a word always cut it, never use the passive where you can use the active, never use jargon if you can think of an everyday equivalent, break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous. The essay argues that unclear writing is not just aesthetically bad but politically dangerous — vague language enables vague thinking, and vague thinking enables bad decisions. For product direction the rules are directly applicable to every product document, strategy memo and stakeholder communication you write. Read alongside Strunk and White, Vonnegut, and Zinsser for the full writing shelf. The essay is short, public domain, and should be reread twice a year.