“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Yes, we all can hum the tune and sing the first line. And it does sound atrocious. Moreover, it’s not very useful. Writing well and writing with big, important-sounding words are not the same.
Imagine the loss of power if Shakespeare had made Hamlet utter, “To exist or not to exist,” rather than “to be or not to be.” What is the question? Is bigger really better? The answer often is (or should be) “no.”
Students can become enamored of big words because such words seem important or grown-up sounding, and some forms of vocabulary study encourage this problem. Effective writing calls for choosing words not because they sound important but because they convey meaning simply, directly, and accurately. Help students think about this idea by pointing out alternatives.
- Instead of accommodation, use room, hotel, or some other, more accurate noun.
- Why use component when part is just as descriptive? Or utilize when use means the same?
- Facilitate is rarely better than simply help or promote.
“Educationeze” is prone to encourage teachers themselves to use big words, which spreads like a virus to students. Remember when everything was a paradigm? In most cases the writers really meant simply model.
Good writing is a complex mix of words, phrases, and sentences. There’s no one formula. But using big words for their bigness alone undermines effective style. William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White in their classic, The Elements of Style, said it best: “Avoid fancy words.”
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