Language: It's not just for politics anymore
Wednesday, December 6 at 9:22 PM
A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more:
1. Could I put it more shortly?
2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?
Why did I not read this in every English class I ever took?
PS
Will thinks this post is rather linguistic.A man after my own heart:
i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
The blogosphere is filled with people who break every one of these rules for no good reason.
Cuneo had us read this is an a Brit Lit class my junior year. I couldn't agree with you more.