Columnist and editor John Leo gave a speech at Ursinus College last year in which he addresses inflated bureaucratic and academic language, the notion of “correctness,” and clarity of voice and style.
He covers such a wide range of subjects that it’s hard to pick a good teaser, but here’s a short excerpt:
When you write, how will you sound? Many of us come under the spell of a great writer and imagine our job is to sound like him or her. Or we try on different prose styles like articles of clothing.
I remember writing testy letters to the power company in the style of Dashiell Hammett, and lordly letters to the editors in the style of Bill Buckley, complete with the mandatory use of “charismatic” and “paradigm, “ both unusual words at that time, plus a delicately inserted “mutatis mutandis” to call due attention to my Jesuit-induced Latin.
Not long after, I absorbed two basic rules: don’t try to sound like other people, and learn all the big words you can, then strive mightily never to use them if a short word will do.
It’s chock full of good stuff—go read it.