Politics and the English Language Summary

Orwell begins by providing five writing samples culled from disparate sources which illustrate later points made in the essay; these samples are clearly noted as bad examples. Orwell then summarizes several common writing errors, including: the use of dying metaphors; false operators - that is, entire phrases that stand for single words; pretentious diction; and, the use of meaningless words. Samples of bad English writing are provided for each. Using bad English is easy, and good English writing demands attention. Orwell then reviews some examples of poor writing, and then develops several strategies for good writing.

In general, bad English voids the language of meaning and, thus, bad English is an excellent vehicle for political speech. Bad English becomes automatic and meaningless, and can be developed and used without effort. When the political truth is...