A list of rules for writers from George Orwell circa 1946

In 1946, George Orwell published Politics and the English Language. The essay criticizes bad habits and promotes the use of clear language. Towards the end, Orwell provides the following rules:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

(source via explore)