Orwell argues that political writing has become ugly and inaccurate because thought has become ugly and inaccurate, and the relationship works both ways. The essay lists the verbal habits that corrupt thinking: dying metaphors, pretentious diction, meaningless words. It offers rules that Orwell immediately says you should break rather than say anything barbarous. The essay is brief, practical, and angry, written in the plain style it advocates. Every writing teacher assigns it. Every generation ignores it. The dying metaphors keep dying. The essay keeps being necessary.