Cast Out the Convolution

As a young graduate student, I liked to use big words to impress the teachers with my vocabulary (that strategy did work in college). A business-school professor quickly disabused me of that notion when he tore apart a five-page essay; he deleted whole paragraphs, crossed out footnotes, and replaced multi-syllabic words with the one- or two-syllable variety. Lesson learned: unless your name is William F. Buckley, simplify, simplify, simplify.

Pointing to some great writers, the Economist's writing columnist "Johnson" agrees with this precept:

Hemingway was a master of knowing how to make the fewest and simplest words tell. Churchill, who knew how to balance and measure out a sentence, said “short words are best, and old words, when short, are best of all.” (The Economist’s style-book editor once took this so close to his heart that he wrote a leader with only one-syllable words.) Orwell said “never use a long word where a short one will do.” Elmore Leonard, a novelist famous for his gritty and realistic style, made one of his ten rules of writing “Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue.” (His summary of the ten rules: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”)

One can go overboard, however. If a big word is the best word, use it. Don't give in to hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia!