“When you wish to instruct, be brief [so] that men’s minds [will] take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson, and retain it faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.” — Cicero
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Einstein on Writing
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
Is It an Acronym or an Initialism
Abbreviations come in several sizes:
1. Acronym
Refers only to abbreviations that sound like—and are read like—actual words: North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO (pronounced NAY-toe). Some acronyms spell out real words: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. And some acronyms become “real” words: laser began as the acronym LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).
2. Initialism
Refers to a series of letters that you say individually: ATM (automated teller machine), BBC (British Broadcasting Company), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
3. Contraction
Refers to abbreviations that include the first and last letters of the full word: Ms. (miz), Mr. (mister), amt. (amount), Gov. (governor).
When to Use a Semicolon
1) To join two independent clauses: Some travelers like to plan their own trips; others like to use a tour company.
2) To link clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases: Travelers who use a tour company prefer to have everything planned for them in advance; however, they pay a premium price for that luxury.
3) To separate items in a list that includes commas: He packed a toilet kit that included a toothbrush, comb, and toothpaste; a computer bag that held his laptop, cables, and mouse; and a daypack that contained his water bottle, energy bars, and maps.
Sage Writing Advice from 1751
If you think today’s emphasis on clear and concise writing is a rather recent, historically speaking, concern of good writers everywhere, think again.
Here is some sage advice from the Earl of Chesterfield in December 1751 to his illegitimate son, Phillip, after “setting the boy up in the world”:
“The first thing necessary in writing letters of business, is extreme clearness and perspicuity;
every paragraph should be so clear and unambiguous, that the dullest fellow in the world may
not be able to mistake it, nor obliged to read it twice in order to understand it. This necessary
clearness implies a correctness, without excluding an elegance of style. Tropes, figures,
antitheses, epigrams, etc., would be as misplaced and as impertinent in letters of business, as
they are sometimes (if judiciously used) proper and pleasing in familiar letters, upon common
and trite subjects. In business, an elegant simplicity, the result of care, not of labor, is required.”
(excerpt from The Atlantic, “How to Write a Business Letter: Advice From the 18th Century,” Shannon Chamberlain)
Simplicity Is the Key to Writing—and Most Other Worthwhile Human Endeavors
“It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple.” Steve Jobs
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Albert Einstein
“You have to deeply understand the essence of a product in order to be able to get rid of the parts that are not essential.” Jonathan Ivie, Senior Vice President of Design for Apple [replace a product with an idea and parts with words and the quote now applies to writing.