After reading George Orwell’s article “Politics and the English Language” and Anne Lamont’s excerpt “shitty first drafts” I came to the conclusion that these two pieces of writing were trying to send the same message of writing becoming more “sloppy” so to speak.
Orwell mentions how the English language has become vague and incompetent. He condemns those who use tricky synonyms for words that can be easily understood, because it makes understanding ones writing much more difficult. Overall it seems like George Orwell criticizes writers who make the above mentioned mistakes because he feels like they are not putting in the work and effort needed to make great writing.
Anne Lamont conveys the same message as Orwell but, in a different way. Lamont attacks the idea of writing just one draft and having it be perfect. She mentions how when she writes her first drafts they come of as “childish” and are just words scribbled down on a page. She also comments on how difficult it’s to start writing and come up with a first draft.
Personally, I feel Lamont’s message does a better job of getting the point across that all writing needs time and hard work to become well written. The reason I say this is because Orwell is attacking the style of peoples writing. I don’t think all his accusations are correct because while strange words may cause confusion, it all so causes intrigue with the reader and hence achieving the goal of having ones writing be read thoughtfully. While Lamont doesn’t focus her accusations on ones styles but rather on writers not putting in enough time and re-reading and revising their work.
Orwell mentions how the English language has become vague and incompetent. He condemns those who use tricky synonyms for words that can be easily understood, because it makes understanding ones writing much more difficult. Overall it seems like George Orwell criticizes writers who make the above mentioned mistakes because he feels like they are not putting in the work and effort needed to make great writing.
Anne Lamont conveys the same message as Orwell but, in a different way. Lamont attacks the idea of writing just one draft and having it be perfect. She mentions how when she writes her first drafts they come of as “childish” and are just words scribbled down on a page. She also comments on how difficult it’s to start writing and come up with a first draft.
Personally, I feel Lamont’s message does a better job of getting the point across that all writing needs time and hard work to become well written. The reason I say this is because Orwell is attacking the style of peoples writing. I don’t think all his accusations are correct because while strange words may cause confusion, it all so causes intrigue with the reader and hence achieving the goal of having ones writing be read thoughtfully. While Lamont doesn’t focus her accusations on ones styles but rather on writers not putting in enough time and re-reading and revising their work.
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