"In Our Own Era of 'Fake News' and 'Alternative Facts,' the Need for Clearer, Simpler Language Is as Great as It Was in 1946"

"Fellow teachers, assign Orwell's famous essay on politics and language if your aim is to promote cultural literacy and critical thinking, or to present a classic example of the plain style, or to discuss the niceties of good versus bad usage. But if you're seeking to improve the literary skills of beginning student writers, don't start with Orwell's list of strictures or advise them to imitate the deceptive simplicity of Orwell's own style."

John Rodden at Commonweal wonders if beginning undergraduates are too young for George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language."