Amy Kral
Professor Catherine Koehler
Writing 001
October 30th, 2013
Reading Summary Assignment #2
Lutz, William. "The World of Doublespeak." The World of Doublespeak. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 248. Print.
William Lutz, a professor of English at Rutgers University, in his essay The World of Doublespeak
argues that doublespeak is an “official language of public discourse.” (Lutz pg. 249) Lutz claims that
doublespeak is a way for society, most specifically the government, to avoid negative feedback if they
say the wrong thing. He implies that doublespeak is a tactic used so that one can communicate
something with the intent of not hurting people’s feelings or to avoid what they are really trying to say,
especially if it is unfavorable. Lutz makes a claim implying that doublespeak could be used to confuse an
audience. He supports this claim when he says, “Indeed, serious doublespeak is the product of clear
thinking and is carefully designed and constructed to appear to communicate but in fact to mislead.”
(Lutz pg. 252) This shows that Lutz has a somewhat negative view on doublespeak. Lutz includes the
research and opinion of George Orwell in his essay. He uses Orwell as a supporting author to prove his
claim that doublespeak is negative. He does so when he claims, “For Orwell, language was an
instrument for ‘expressing and not concealing or preventing thought.’” (Lutz pg. 252) Lutz uses this as a
supporting claim to emphasize that he believes language should not be used to deceive society.