Writing Resources

Lesson Plan: Clarity in Writing

Politics 

Objective

To help students simplify their writing

Total estimated time

1 hour 20 minutes

Work Completed Before Class

Students will read George Orwell’s "Politics and the English Language" 

 Tell them to take note of these rules:

  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 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.
 In Class
  1. Have a conversation about each of Orwell’s rules, paying particular attention to the active voice and alternatives to “to be” (including am, is, are, was, were, be, been, and being). (20 min)
  2. Have students each come up with a list of common metaphors, foreign phrases, and jargon that they often see in writing. (10 min)
  3. Discuss the lists and suggest additional words or phrases to avoid. (10 min)
  4. Have students work individually to simplify several sentences and phrases (see attached handouts). Then discuss. (40 min)

Clarity & Clutter Exercise

Developed at Brandeis University through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation