The Importance of Clear and Precise Writing

To gain understanding, the path from sender to receiver must be straight, clear, and concrete. If one clouds this path, the sender can state anything to the naivete of the receiver. A distrust builds between the receiver and the sender to a point at which the receiver will not believe anything that comes from the sender, or the sender puts himself above and no longer wants to be a part of the receiver's world. This happens all to frequently in the political world.

The members of parliament use jargon to not offend as many people as possible. Jargon is terminology used by specially defined groups, and useless gibberish to another group. Jargon protects the government and business elite, by convincing common people that the elite know something to good for the commoners. When jargon is used, it confuses the common people, who "prefer the specific to the general, the defined to the vague, the concrete to the abstract."(Strunk & White 15)

"A writer's diction should be as plain and simple as is consistent with a clear and effective treatment of his subjects."(Hoole 139) When people do not write plainly and simply, honor and trust is lost. One must also use good style to convey understanding. "Style takes its finial shape more from attitudes of the mind than from principles of composition."(Strunk & White 70) If one's heart desires deception and deceit, one will use large words in hopes of confusing the receiver. Therefor authorities and bureaucrats should communicate in clear simple prose, not jargon.

Jonathan Swift was a man who took pleasure in the simple. He was born in 1667 and died in 1745. In his life he wrote many great proposals and prose. In 1712, Swift published A Proposal Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue, in which Swift trying to convince Robert, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, Lord High Treasure of Great Britain to start a program to eliminate all the useless and vague words. Swift calls such words "enthusiastic jargon," and warns against the over simplification of modern book and pamphlets. He also noted when additives where tacked on to something simple, clarity was lost:

"And I doubt whether the alterations since introduced, have added much to the beauty or strength of the English tongue, though they have taken off a great deal from that simplicity, which is one of the greatest reflections in any language."(Swift 32-33)

Swift cherished simple writing: