GreenMark

In his “Politics and the English Language,” Orwell reflects on six “rules” that may guide one’s writing:

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

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

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

iv. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

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

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

In my own writing journey, I’ve come across words, expressions, and ideas that have, at least as of late, have become overused, nauseating, cliched, and platitudinous. In no way is this list exhaustive, but it is worth showing you what I’m trying to avoid in my own personal and academic writing (in case you yourself might want to think of your own list of terms to avoid).

“to be,” “to have,” “to provide,” adverbs in general but most particularly “always,” “the value/significance of,” “lived experience,” “afford/affordances,” “at the core,” “attend to,” “play a[n] [adjective] role,” “problematic,” “use/utilize,” “enact/enactment,” “speak [one’s] truth [to power],” “liberatory,” “bigger than oneself,” “bring/speak knowledge/truth to power,” “conspirator/co-conspirator,” “construct/co-construct,” “disrupt”

These are words and expressions overused in my academic and professional life but might not be troubling in yours. Consider the language in your life that might be trite and overdone. Work toward avoiding the language in your own list, not just to avoid them, but also to think critically about writing critically.