6 Rules for Effective Writing from George Orwell

Follow these rules (created by none other than George Orwell himself) and see what a difference they make:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive voice where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

If you want more detail on any of these, check out this article: 6 rules for effective writing by George Orwell

And here’s the original essay where he first wrote these rules (way back in 1946).