Nineteen Eighty-Four. Animal Farm. Down and Out in Paris and London.
George Orwell was one of Britain’s greatest ever authors. And if he was around today, he’d also make a brilliant copywriter (just don’t tell him we said that).
Orwell knew all about the importance of writing in plain English to connect with as many people as possible. In fact, he even wrote the rulebook… well, six rules for writing.
It’s simple, sound advice – and professional copywriters refer to it again and again.
George Orwell’s 6 writing 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 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.
Orwell’s six writing rules (which featured in his book Politics and the English Language) can help any writer get their message across to their target audience.
For example, if Orwell wrote some corporate copy…
He wouldn’t write this: Optimising consultancies’ return on investment in business
He would write something like this: Together, we can reach your business goals
You get the idea. Now try out Orwell’s six rules for yourself…
