A voice from the past

I like George Orwell. Always have. Maybe it's to do with the fact that my father was apparently reading Lord of the Flies as he paced around outside the delivery room on the day in 196? when I was delivered into the world.

Anyway, there's an extract from Orwell's 1946 essay, "Politics and the English Language" that I particularly value. I think it's a good set of basic rules for anyone who writes English for a living - and, let's face it, that's a lot of us.

Can't say I always stick faithfully to these rules when I write. But my reason for reproducing theme here is that I think they offer a (largely) useful set of guidelines for writing for the web.

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never us 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.

Usability in content comes from being concise, user-focused, to the point and action orientated. Orwell's rules steer us in the right direction, especially 2, 3 and 5. Although I agree broadly with 4 for the web, I hesitate a little because there can be good reasons to use the passive, notably in headings (see Jakob Nielsen on the subject here). 1 has suffered a little with time, but the principle holds. And you can't argue with 6!

Fifty years on, and still relevant. Not bad!