"Politics and the English Language" (1946)¶

Author: George Orwell Type: Nonfiction Essay Source: Fair-use excerpts — full essay available at Orwell Foundation and Internet Archive Era/Period: WH Era 4 — Age of Global War and Globalization ELA Standards: 9-10.R.4 · 9-10.R.8 · 9-10.W.4 WH Standards: WH.6_12.5

What This Text Is About¶

George Orwell argues that political language is often deliberately vague and ugly, hiding the truth from people. He targets bad writers in government and journalism who use complex phrases to make simple ideas seem more important or mysterious. It matters for students because learning to spot this kind of writing can help you be a better critic and argument writer.

Read It¶

Fair-use excerpts for educational use. Full essay at links above.

The Central Problem¶

Orwell argues that political and economic writing has become deliberately vague, using long words and complex sentences to hide meaning rather than clarify it. This vagueness often serves the purpose of hiding inconvenient facts or truth from the public.

Five Symptoms of Bad Writing¶

Dying metaphors: "He is an old hand" instead of a clear statement

Operators or verbal false limbs: "This represents a new departure in our policy"

Pretentious diction: "Utilize" instead of "use", "phenomenon" instead of "thing"

Meaningless words: "A seamless web of deception" where simpler alternatives would suffice

Orwell's Six Rules¶

These are the six rules Orwell gives for clear writing:

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

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

Never use the passive where you can use the active.

Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Politics and Language¶

Orwell argues that in our time political speech is often used to defend the indefensible, that vague language enables political dishonesty, and that clarity in writing forces clarity in thinking. He warns against how language can corrupt thought and vice versa.

Get the full text: - Internet Archive — free access - Orwell Foundation — complete essay online - No library card? Connect with Mr. Reese or the Fargo South Library.

ELA Standards This Connects To¶

9-10.R.4 — Orwell makes an argument by building a case from specific examples of poor writing in political texts, showing how they obscure meaning and hide truth. Students should trace how Orwell uses these examples to support his broader claim about the need for clear language.
9-10.R.8 — Orwell uses rhetorical strategies including naming specific bad examples (like "incontrovertible"), appeals to practicality (by suggesting rules for better writing), and giving concrete rules at the end to help readers see how to apply his ideas.
9-10.W.4 — Orwell's six rules function as a direct writing checklist that students can use in their own drafts, making W.4 criteria concrete and memorable by providing clear guidelines on style and clarity.

WH.6_12.5 — This essay is a product of 1946, right after WWII when Orwell had seen how totalitarian governments used language to control people's thoughts (like Nazi propaganda or Soviet doublespeak). Understanding the historical context makes this essay a primary source on how language functions in political power.

Key Vocabulary¶

Term	Definition
Euphemism	A mild or vague word used in place of a blunt or harsh one — often to hide what is actually happening
Jargon	Specialized vocabulary used by a group, often used to sound authoritative while obscuring meaning
Abstraction	A word that refers to a concept rather than a specific thing — often used to avoid being precise
Passive voice	A sentence structure where the subject receives the action instead of doing it — "mistakes were made" instead of "I made mistakes"
Rhetoric	The art of persuasion — the techniques a writer or speaker uses to convince an audience

Studio Ideas¶

"Diagnose the Disease" — EQ: How do politicians use language to hide what they are actually doing? · Standard: 9-10.R.4 · Demo Mode: Written Assessment (find a political speech or statement; apply Orwell's five symptoms to diagnose its evasions; write an argument about what the speaker is actually saying vs. what the words literally say)
"Apply the Six Rules" — EQ: What does it actually mean to write clearly? · Standard: 9-10.W.4 · Demo Mode: Workshop (take a paragraph from a recent student draft; apply Orwell's six rules as a revision checklist; compare before and after; explain which changes made the biggest difference and why)
"Then and Now" — EQ: Has political language gotten better or worse since Orwell wrote this in 1946? · Standard: WH.6_12.5 + 9-10.R.8 · Demo Mode: Verbal Conversation (select a political speech from 1946 and one from today; apply Orwell's diagnostic framework to both; make an argument about whether Orwell's warning has been heeded)

Why This Is Relevant Today?¶

Orwell published "Politics and the English Language" in 1946, and it reads like it was written about the current news cycle. His central argument — that bad politics and bad writing reinforce each other, that vague, abstract, euphemistic language is used to make unacceptable things acceptable — is a user manual for analyzing political speech in any era. "Collateral damage" instead of "civilian deaths." "Enhanced interrogation" instead of "torture." "Undocumented" vs. "illegal." "Urban unrest" instead of "uprising." Every euphemism debate, every argument about what to call something and why the name matters, is an Orwell argument. His six rules for clear writing — including "never use a long word where a short one will do" and "if it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out" — are still the best concise writing advice available. Media literacy education, political rhetoric courses, and journalism ethics programs all draw on this essay. It's short enough to read in one class period and useful enough to return to every time you encounter political language that feels designed to prevent thought.