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    EssayWC - Naim Al Baqain

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    1) The document discusses George Orwell's views on language habits as presented in his work "Politics and the English Language". Orwell sees certain language habits as hindering clear thought and expression. 2) A counterargument is presented that it is subjective what constitutes a good or bad language habit. 3) However, the document argues that Orwell supported habits that promote clarity, such as clear writing. Practicing clear thinking and writing helps control thoughts and communicate intended meanings. Unclear writing habits undermine comprehension.

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    EssayWC - Naim Al Baqain

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    1) The document discusses George Orwell's views on language habits as presented in his work "Politics and the English Language". Orwell sees certain language habits as hindering clear thought and expression. 2) A counterargument is presented that it is subjective what constitutes a good or bad language habit. 3) However, the document argues that Orwell supported habits that promote clarity, such as clear writing. Practicing clear thinking and writing helps control thoughts and communicate intended meanings. Unclear writing habits undermine comprehension.

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    EssayWC_Naim Al Baqain

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    1) The document discusses George Orwell's views on language habits as presented in his work "Politics and the English Language". Orwell sees certain language habits as hindering clear thought and expression. 2) A counterargument is presented that it is subjective what constitutes a good or bad language habit. 3) However, the document argues that Orwell supported habits that promote clarity, such as clear writing. Practicing clear thinking and writing helps control thoughts and communicate intended meanings. Unclear writing habits undermine comprehension.

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    8 views2 pages

    EssayWC - Naim Al Baqain

    Uploaded by

    Enem
    1) The document discusses George Orwell's views on language habits as presented in his work "Politics and the English Language". Orwell sees certain language habits as hindering clear thought and expression. 2) A counterargument is presented that it is subjective what constitutes a good or bad language habit. 3) However, the document argues that Orwell supported habits that promote clarity, such as clear writing. Practicing clear thinking and writing helps control thoughts and communicate intended meanings. Unclear writing habits undermine comprehension.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen

    S: Written Communication
    Dr. McColl
    Summer term 2022
    Naim Al Baqain (5731608) 06.07.2022

    Essay Draft
    “If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary
    first step toward political regeneration […]” Orwell sees language as a problem of control; it
    not only distorts people's thought processes but also directs them. In his work "Politics and
    the English Language" he lists some of these language habits. He warns against using
    outdated metaphors, similes, jargon and political terms, confusing expressions, meaningless
    words and ready-made phrases. These hinder the reader's ability to think clearly and
    critically. Of course, it could be argued that his statement seems biased, and one could think
    that Orwell also wants to eliminate good language habits. Nevertheless, for Orwell, clarity
    falls under the category of "good" language and can therefore itself be counted as a habit. It
    was not his intention to abolish good habits, but rather to motivate people to use them to
    better express themselves and to keep control over language.

    Counter argument: Orwell does not clearly express wether the habits are only bad or also
    good language habits. It is subjective what one sees as a good or bad writing habit.

    If we accept the argument presented above, we could further assume that Orwell has a
    clear idea of what can be seen as a good or bad language habit. Clear writing is one of the
    skills that should be trained and thus becomes habitual in writing. To quote David
    McCullough, an American author: "Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's
    why it's so hard." The way we write therefore depends on the clarity of our thoughts. Many
    writers are thoughtful and have many ideas they want to implement. However, they do not
    take the time to sort out their thoughts and discard unnecessary ideas. The result is
    complicated and incomprehensible thought processes that leave the reader with more
    questions than answers. Through practice, everyone can control their thoughts. Over time, a
    routine can develop that enables one to sort them out and eliminate the excessive. The
    counterpart to clarity is vague language. An author who uses vague formulations only lets
    the reader guess what his intentions are and leaves them to reveal the hidden opinion
    themselves. A good habit of language should not be discarded in any case. On the contrary,
    good language is directly linked to clarity and should be trained in one's own thoughts.

    A clear and uncomplicated style of writing is noticeable when reading. So do the bad
    language habits. These habits outweigh the clear structure in any text and are therefore
    more perceptible. Orwell says that "Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad
    habits spread by imitation [...]" (Politics 128) One example he gives is "prefabricated
    phrases", where a given and already formulated sequence of words or sentences are used
    again. "Modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of
    their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in
    gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone
    else and making the results presentable by sheer humbug."(Politics) This does not
    encourage creativity and prevents the writer from expressing himself clearly. In some cases,
    this can also lead to writing things that were not intended. This has a strong influence on the
    perception of the text and for the reader, it is more confusing than understandable. This
    habit educates the exact opposite of "good" language. It does not follow the model that
    thoughts control language. Here, the pre-written sentences or outdated metaphors
    influence the flow of reading.

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