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I don't know whether this has been or can be studied formally, but anecdotally I think modern writing often suffers from excess verbiage. Essays sometimes go on
by kldaace 10y ago
I don't know whether this has been or can be studied formally, but anecdotally I think modern writing often suffers from excess verbiage. Essays sometimes go on for a long time without saying much, and this can cause a lot of frustration for readers. I'm sure many of you have felt this frustration when reading political opinion pieces.
A fun exercise that illustrates Orwell's point, when reading a sentence, see how much you can reduce it without losing its original meaning. For instance, I frame your question as follows:
"Do we know if this has been studied? It's not obvious that succinctness is better for readability and comprehension. It might be worse."
You can think of this as the writer's version of code golf.
- carlob 10y ago>but anecdotally I think modern writing often suffers from excess verbiage. I love how meta this sentence is :)
- kldaace 10y ago;)
- denzil_correa 10y ago> anecdotally I think modern writing often suffers from excess verbiage. Ironical, given that verbiage itself means excess.
- anilgulecha 10y agoOn a tangential note, most of pg's articles are succinct and to the point. I feel he pays special attention to using the minimum number of words to express an idea.. one of the reasons I enjoy reading his essays.
- TheOtherHobbes 10y agoPG is an exceptionally good essayist. The content is.. often very debatable. But I think the style and presentation are so good they should be studied in schools.
- conistonwater 10y agoYou changed the meaning! For example, "It's not quite so obvious" means "It's not as obvious as Orwell seems to think it is", and is not the same as "It's not obvious". (Otherwise the "quite" would have been unnecessary, and I wouldn't have used it.) ;)