'Determining Your Writing Style'

“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.

Lutz begins the persuasive essay with a sarcastic tone. He distinguishes the use of doublespeak with quotation marks. He starts off each sentence without the use of doublespeak and ends with how doublespeak perceives the situation to be rather than the reality. Lutz states, “The Reagan Administration didn’t propose any new taxes, just “revenue enhancement” through new “user’s fees.” (Lutz line 1-3) He shows how “taxes” was changed to something different in order to mislead the public. William Lutz provided various examples to show that doublespeak can sugarcoat different situations. He then goes on to supply a definition of doublespeak through diction. William Lutz continues to classify doublespeak as a “language” and explains how it is used to mislead others. He states, “Doublespeak is language that avoids or shifts responsibility, language that is at variance with its real or purported meaning.” (Lutz line10-11) This shows that it is at a whole other level that has to be deciphered to be able to understand and also suggests that can be difficult to capture. Lutz also uses repetition to give the definition. He states, “It is the incongruity between the word and referent, between seem and be, between the essential function of language…” (Lutz line 15-16) This emphasizes the length of the effect doublespeak can have. Lutz begins to structure his essay into subsections to further explain doublespeak. The first subsection focuses on “How to Spot Doublespeak.” He

In William Lutz’s essay entitled “The World of Doublespeak,” from Christopher Ricks’s and Lenonard Micheal’s anthology State of the Language, Lutz examines the art of doublespeak. This essay is meant to enlighten people on examples and different uses of doublespeak and how organizations and others use it to mislead. Lutz begins by defining doublespeak as “language which pretends to communicate but doesn’t, language which makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant attractive, or at least tolerable” (278). Specifically, people who use doublespeak pretend to be conveying a certain message while in the real sense they are doing the opposite of that. The author gives specific examples of doublespeak that affect the

Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.

As famous author George Orwell wrote, “Political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible” (Orwell 1). Orwell is pointing out how the lack of clarity in political writing causes society to underestimate the severity of war and other atrocious actions. This not only applies to political writing as argued by George Orwell In “Politics of the English Language”. Mark Twain and Wilfred Owen reinforce this point.

Novelist, essayist, and journalist, George Orwell, in his essay, “Politics and the English Language”, argues that the language we use effects politics and government. Orwell’s purpose is to convey the idea that people must avoid bad habits in written English, especially writing in politics, because people lack thinking their words through, and how political writers mislead people with the decline in the value of the English language. The author creates a serious and dictator tone in order to persuade his audience that he is in charge of his writing and what he is saying is right.

Orwell discusses general characteristics of bad writing into separate categories, including pretentious diction, dying metaphors, operators or verbal false limbs, and meaningless words. His purpose in the analysis is to show

“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for” (Lee, 174). Words are one of the most powerful weapons consistently. Words can dismantle lives and have a colossal effect on everyone. Words in the form of thoughts, rumors, and words on paper play vital roles in shattering people’s lives. Words appear in many different ways but the power of words are strongly presented in three distinct writing styles. William Shakespeare, Harper Lee and George Orwell utilize the power of rhetoric to manipulate others which destroys their futures.

Initially, Orwell clearly states in his essay that imagery as-well as the conciseness that is needed for clear writing remains lacking. In “Politics and the English Language,” Orwell states that writing consists of “vagueness and sheer incompetence” (par 9). To clarify, writers can obtain superior writing when they utilize the art of precision and provoke the reader, not confuse him or her. In addition, when using the English language, the writer should stimulate a sensory image in the reader’s mind. Using metaphors that are not outdated and being clear that the metaphor makes sense exists as an ideal in altering the way society uses the English language.

To begin with their differences, Orwell expounds on the faults of English language when written constructively. In his text, “Politics and the English Language”, he pleads with his concerns about modern writers and their writing structure through a haughty and conservative perspective. To this author, language and writing is incorrigible. For instance, in the text he states, “In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and

George Orwell’s essay, Politics and the English Language, first published in 1946, talks about some “bad habits”, which have driven the English language in the wrong direction, that is, away from communicating ideas. In his essay he quotes five passages, each from a different author, which embody the faults he is talking about. He lists dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words as things to look out for in your own writing and the writing of others (593-595). He talks about political uses of the English language. Our language has become ugly and the ugliness impedes upon communication. Ugly uses of language have been reinforced and passed down in the population “even among people who should and do know

Firstly, my mentor commented that English was my second language; therefore my written expressions easily confuse audience and detract them from my aimed message. Although having encountered feedback regarding my written expression in the university, this time my feeling was totally different – anxious and sad as I therefore afraid that language would obstruct my 12-week placement journey. This made me think of and believed in Gregory’s argument that “effective writing can be persuasive and entice action” and “one of the best way to promote

The English language changes dramatically over time, effecting how English writers formulate their words; some argue that these changes are not for the better. In the essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell evaluates both modern and past works, and elaborates on his views of how language degrades. He conveys that the modern writing style needs considerable improvement. Orwell wants writers and speakers, such as politicians, to adjust their phrasing to favor clarity. At first, Orwell uses modern language errors in his own writing to demonstrate their impracticality, then he reveals how modern writers dupe their readers, in the end Orwell warns his audience of the harmful effects of deficient writing.

In writing it’s important to have an understanding of what you’re trying to convey for your audience in addition to how you you will present your ideas. Effective communication extends beyond having well organized writing expressed in complete and coherent sentences. The style, tone and clarity of writing must also be considered, as they are constantly changing relative to the audience. Again, analyzing one’s audience and purpose is essential to successful writing. Appropriately, when choosing the most effective language, it is important to consider the document objective as well as the reader. In essence, this idea of effective use of language has been the overarching theme of this online English course. Each writing assignment

Writers, such as the above stated, moved away from the standard structured style of writing and went toward spontaneous and unadulterated prose. This style of writing allowed the true, underlying thoughts to come out instead of the “supposed to’s” and the “I shouldn’t have’s”. Through their works as well as the works of others, a transition came into effect for American society…from war and unrest to peace and freedom to do whatever floats your boat.