George Orwell argued that “if thought corrupts language, language can often corrupt thought” and proposed six rules of good writing.
• Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print
• Never use a long word where a short one will do
• If it is possible to cut a word out, 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
Follow these rules and make the world a better place.