Long, complex sentences were put on a pedestal throughout most of my academic reading & writing career. If you accept that the goal of written words is to broa

Long, complex sentences were put on a pedestal throughout most of my academic reading & writing career. If you accept that the goal of written words is to broadly convey ideas while limiting confusion then there is a strong logical case to be made for simple wording and simple sentences. Complex words and sentence construction automatically limit the population that can access your writing and raise the risk of misinterpretation. Choosing simple words and concise phrasing to communicate puts constraints on the writer, but it increases the likelihood that the message gets received. Finally page limits on essays should always be an upper limit, not a lower limit.