I wish I could send you all back to school.
For the last two months, I've been teaching an undergraduate journalism class at New York University, re-reading crucial writing texts that I had buried in the musty corners of my brain. The experience has really helped my writing.
Case in point: George Orwell's foundational essay, "Politics and the English Language." All writers should re-read this work every couple years, and in the interests of sharing the writing wisdom packed inside, I'll be re-printing a couple bits of wisdom from my students' papers.
Today, NYU undergraduate Jessica Kramer has our lesson: Bad writing can actually harm the cultural conversation in our political blogs, essays, or novels. With the non-stop blitz of posts required by web publications, it is more important than ever that we read Orwell right now.
"Orwell explained that using the English language poorly isn’t a mere matter of principle. It harms political discourse by hiding the true meanings of words behind vague language that isn’t specific enough to paint a concrete picture of what the writer is trying to convey. 'Political language,' states Orwell, 'is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.'”
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