A Critical Analysis of George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"

Orwell, G. (1946). Politics and the English Language. Horizon (April Issue), 1-8.

In his essay Politics and the English Language, George Orwell, author of the famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, argues that political speech and writing have corrupted the English language by introducing several “bad habits” (Orwell, 1). The paper states that politicians intentionally use vague language in order to veil the true meaning of their words and that this trend has carried over into academia and writing in general, where people emulate the style of speech used by politicians in order to seem intelligent (Orwell, 5-6). While the majority of the paper is unstructured, Orwell designates specific sections for each of the “bad habits” he discusses in his critique of modern writing, namely the use of dying metaphors, the tendency to “pad out” sentences with extra syllables, the use of pretentious diction, and the use of meaningless or vague terms (Orwell, 2-3), helping them to stand out from the rest of the paper. Examples from various sample texts are provided for each of these habits. By framing his writing tips between the two halves of his main argument, Orwell encourages the reader to learn about good writing while keeping the emphasis of the paper firmly on his thesis. Near the end of the paper, Orwell also includes a numbered list of rules for writing well, providing an easy checklist for the reader to follow when writing their own material.

Orwell's formal tone lends him an air of authority which suits the intended audience, namely fellow writers who may be looking to learn from him. His style throughout the text follows his own guidelines of brevity, lack of jargon, and use of the active voice.

While Orwell does not back up his main argument with facts, his opinions may prove interesting to those studying the interplay between politics and language. Moreover, the writing tips offered in the paper could be very useful for any writer looking to improve their style, especially in situations where concise, formal writing is required.

A Critical Analysis of Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft"

Image by Fabio. Used under  Creative Commons License.

Have you ever considered a career in professional writing but didn't know where to start? How does one become successful as an author?

In his book On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft, Stephen King, the author of several best-selling horror novels, tells the story of his first paid work as a writer. Through personal anecdotes he also touches upon key principles of successful professional writing, such as being aware of one's audience and learning from existing works to help develop one's own voice. King's personal style occasionally comes through in snatches of dark humour and he uses his attention to detail to keep the reader enthralled with his tale. While this memoir may be aimed mostly at his existing fans, King provides some useful advice for any aspiring writer, drawing from his own experience of several decades in the field.

King's style throughout this piece has been carefully chosen to fit his audience; knowing that the majority of people who read the book likely enjoyed his other works, he eschews the formal, textbook-like style that might be best suited for teaching people how to write in favour of an informal, narrative-based memoir format. This style is more likely to please fans of his previous work while still allowing him to develop themes around the importance of knowing one's audience and various other writing tips. By striking a balance between a tutorial and a novel, King is able to keep both fans and budding authors happy.

Though Stephen King's experience makes him a good choice to write a memoir dealing with professional writing, his choice of format, namely that of a memoir, makes it more difficult to learn about how to be a successful author than if the same material was presented in a more conventional textbook or manual. While the material is certainly interesting and helpful, those looking solely for a manual on how to write professionally may want to look elsewhere.

Sources:

King, S. (2000). On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft. New York: Scribner.