Cutting out stuff

In George Orwell's, Politics and the English language, Orwell pushes writers to avoid the unnecessary and get to the essence of what they're talking about. It means using more basic language and style if it means you can better convey a topic or idea.
He argues that as our culture has gotten less modest, so has our written words. We use metaphors we don't need to try and explain opinions we dont fully understand. Personally, I think he's spot on, and I don't think it's anymore evident then in most of the fiction literature that comes out today and the papers we write ourselves in class.
Honestly, I don't know how many times I've heard of students randomly right clicking in microsoft word to find synonyms with more syllables and to upgrade their character and perceived IQ count. Shoot, I might have done (executed) it once or thrice. Twice.
I think it shows too that before we jot down our opinions and thoughts, we should figure exactly what we feel or think about an issue, so we don't run around in circles.
Another big one that resonated a bit with me because I see it in some of the stories I edit, are using mega big words, when a smaller one will do. Why alientate (ha!) a group of people if you can create something that everyone will understand?
I thought his opinions were pretty similar to Ted Kooser, this bad-a poet that would always make his poems as simple and short as possible to make them accessible and understandable to anyone.
In class, this means really boiling down the point of my argument paper before I start it. Get to the core of the argument, then go through each section of it, without trying to blow it up without reason.