I fled my house on Monday as an earthquake hit where i live in Latakia, Syria. We're still in risk and anxiety and fear are at an all-time high. Listening to you, however, calms me down. University of Oxford, thanks! ❤️

Your altruism never ceases to amaze me, thank you for helping thousands of students just because you can and even though you are not getting anything in return. Thank you :) (also very long sentences i probably didn’t takeaway as much as i should haha)

This was truly helpful and was released at just the right time. I have just started writing an essay worth 50% of my grade, thus these tips will be extremely useful to me. Thank you for your advice!

Dr. Matt, thank you for existing, you have helped me so much!

As I scrabble to finish my assignment for Hilary Term exam date, looking at my inclusion of, ecclesiology, eschatology and polity in the introduction to hide my own perceived inadequacy as an imposter, I’ve clearly broken rule 2, 3 & 4 ! 😂 I wish there were academic writing skills tutorial for dyslexics in Oxford 😢 Thank you for your wonderful videos

00:04 Writing clearly is crucial for effective communication. 02:00 Metaphors and similes can make writing zingy and poetic but can be problematic in academic essays. 04:05 Avoid using metaphors and long words in essays :) 06:01 Simple language is more accessible and effective (be simple) 07:53 Use shorter and clearer sentences for better communication. 09:58 Avoid using passive form for clear communication (AXIOS) 12:11 Avoid using excessive technical words in writing. 14:22 Using direct and clear language is crucial for effective writing. 16:34 be BARBAROUUUUUUS. Thank you very much for the upload Pr Matt! I will be back in Oxford this summer and Jesus' College is certainly one of the kindest (thus I will try to visit it if it is possible hahahaha ...Dam I need to practice those writing rules)

One more helpful video of yours. As a Kansas State graduate in JMC (print) and Poli Sci, I advise all Uni students to take intro level JMC (print) classes. These courses will definitely help them to improve their essay writting skills. (wondering if there are print JMC courses nowadays)

How did I not know about this book! My writing is relatively weak (I am a graduate of Oxford, Catz 2013, History of Design), and I read a few books on essay writing that have not helped. Orwell's nonfiction, Down and out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier, are brilliant examples. I have a dissertation at Cambridge, which is 2 years overdue. I have no excuse now. I thought I had read all of Orwell's nonfiction, so thank you. This may be the most important book I have ever read.

Thank you for this

You are single-handedly making sure I don't bomb my entire academic career :) Have you ever managed to overcome the self-doubt? I felt an existential crisis yesterday morning and I don't think I can go through that again, lol.

Again, great stuff. I always fall into the trap of using unnecessary words, my sentences are a bit too long as well. But will work on that after watching this. Where did Orwell learn to write?

Found, Why I Write, in a book of Orwell's essays that I have. (Everyman's Library)

Rule 1 - 1:51 Rule 2 - 4:48 Rule 3 - 7:43 Rule 4 - 9:26 Rule 5 - 11:22 Rule 6 - 13:33

Hhmmm....our language has been dumbed down so much ...but yes, overly complicated sentences make me want to scream, so pompous and tedious. Using 'long' words obtrusively is just maddening to read and really hinders the flow of the writer's voice. However, so many beautifully expressive words aren't being used now and more general and bland alternatives are used😟 which is a shame. I remember at uni our English tutor talking about cutting out unnecessary words and telling us a story about someone leaving a long letter , or note, for someone and writing, "sorry it's so long but I didn't have time to write a short one."