The Writing Advice That Keeps Coming Up: A Composite Guide From Classic Style Manuals
The principles that recur across classic writing guides, from Orwell's six rules to plain-language standards, and how bloggers can apply them to online writing.
Writing advice is endless, contradictory and frequently repackaged. Yet when you read classic and widely used style guides side by side, a small set of principles keeps recurring. This composite guide brings those principles together and translates them for bloggers.
Sources include George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" (1946), William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White's The Elements of Style, plain-language guidance published by governments, and widely used editorial style guides. We paraphrase their principles rather than quoting at length, and we note where they disagree.
Principle 1: Prefer the short, plain word
Orwell's rules include never using a long word where a short one will do, and avoiding foreign phrases, scientific words or jargon if an everyday English equivalent exists. Plain-language guidance from government bodies makes the same point: use common, everyday words.
For bloggers: "use" rather than "utilise", "help" rather than "facilitate", "start" rather than "commence". Readers on phones scanning quickly understand plain words faster.
Principle 2: Cut unnecessary words
Orwell advised cutting a word out whenever it is possible to do so. The Elements of Style famously urges writers to "omit needless words", meaning not that every sentence must be short, but that every word should do work.
For bloggers: cut throat-clearing openings ("In this post, I'm going to…"), redundant qualifiers ("very unique", "completely finished") and filler ("basically", "actually", "in order to" when "to" will do). See our guide to blog introductions.
Principle 3: Prefer the active voice
Orwell recommended never using the passive where the active will do. Many guides make similar recommendations, though most acknowledge the passive has its place, for example when the actor is unknown or unimportant.
For bloggers: "We tested six microphones" is clearer than "Six microphones were tested". Passive constructions often hide who did what, which matters for trust.
Principle 4: Avoid stale figures of speech
Orwell warned against metaphors, similes and figures of speech you are used to seeing in print. Clichés slide past readers without creating any image.
For bloggers: "game-changer", "at the end of the day", "take it to the next level" and "in today's fast-paced world" signal autopilot writing. Use concrete, specific language instead.
Principle 5: Be specific and concrete
The Elements of Style urges using definite, specific, concrete language. Concrete details create pictures; abstractions create fog.
For bloggers: not "the battery life is good" but "the battery lasted four days of daily one-hour use". Specificity is also one of the clearest signals of genuine experience.
Principle 6: Know who you are writing for
Plain-language guidance consistently begins with the audience: who are they, what do they need to know, what do they already know? Editorial guides advise writing for an intelligent reader who is not an expert.
For bloggers: write for one specific reader. Imagine a friend who has the problem your post solves.
Principle 7: Structure for the reader
Plain-language standards emphasise putting the most important information first, using headings, short paragraphs and lists, and organising material around the reader's questions.
For bloggers: answer the main question early, use descriptive subheadings, keep paragraphs short and use lists for steps and options. Online readers often skim before deciding to read.
Principle 8: Break the rules when needed
Orwell's final rule was to break any of the rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. It is a reminder that guidelines serve clarity, not the reverse.
For bloggers: a long word can be the right word. A passive sentence can be the clearest. A metaphor can be fresh. Use judgement.
Where the guides disagree
- Sentence length: some guides push for short sentences; others defend long sentences that are clear and rhythmic. Variety usually reads best.
- Adverbs and adjectives: some guides are hostile; others note that well-chosen modifiers add precision.
- Contractions: formal guides may discourage them; most online style guides now accept them for a conversational tone.
- The "rules" of grammar: many guides acknowledge that some traditional prohibitions, such as never splitting an infinitive or never ending a sentence with a preposition, are not real rules of English.
A blogger's editing checklist, distilled
- Does the first paragraph tell the reader what they will get?
- Can I replace any long words with short ones?
- Can I cut any words without losing meaning?
- Are most sentences active?
- Have I removed clichés?
- Have I replaced vague claims with specific details?
- Do headings tell a skimming reader the story of the post?
- Are paragraphs short enough for phone reading?
- Would my target reader understand every term?
- Have I broken a rule only where it makes the writing clearer?
Read the originals
- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (1946): short, sharp and still relevant.
- William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style: influential, though some of its grammatical advice has been criticised by linguists.
- Plain-language guidance from organisations such as the UK Government Digital Service and the US federal plain language guidelines.
- Your favourite publication's style guide: many are published online.
Good writing advice converges on a simple idea: respect the reader's time. Use plain words, cut what is not needed, be specific and structure your work around what the reader needs to know.
Applying the consensus: an edit in practice
Original sentence: "In this post, I am going to be talking about some of the various different ways in which you could potentially make your blog introductions a little bit better."
Edited using common advice (cut filler, use active voice, be specific): "Here are four ways to write sharper blog introductions."
The edit cuts the word count by about three-quarters without losing meaning. Repeat the exercise on your own drafts: delete hedges ("a little bit", "potentially"), redundant phrases ("various different") and throat-clearing openings.
Frequently asked questions
Is the advice to "write every day" essential? Many writers recommend it; others write in focused bursts. Consistency matters more than daily practice.
Does this advice apply to scripts for video? Mostly, yes. Spoken scripts benefit from short sentences and plain words even more than written text.
