Article Critique

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Article Critique
The article “Out with the long” advocates for shorter words. The author argues that the shorter words are better than the longer ones because the former has strength in explaining the facts about the topic being discussed. The author argues that on a person’s bad day, shorter words are best since they are easy to say and grasp by the listener. The article goes further to argue that shorter sentences make it easier to read a text that one can find easy to turn over to the next page to read more. The author used one of Winston Churchill’s famous quotes, “short words are best; old words are the best of all when short.” In the quote, Winston advocated for old words to be better than the current ones. He mentioned that the words were even better when short. The author of the article meant to suggest that shorter words make more sense than the longer once. Short words are stronger when delivered verbally or in written form. The author does not entirely claim that long words are not compelling. However, longer words can mislead the reader or listener since they tend to lose meaning mid-way. The author has used ethos, logos, and pathos to write the article. Therefore, the text focusses on explaining the advantages of using shorter words that give direct and robust meaning.
The author who is also an anonymous editor of the magazine, The Economist, agrees with Churchill that shorter words are better than the longer ones.

Language gurus also agree with this argument. Almost everyone while in school has been told to “keep it simple,” especially in exam papers. Tutors do not like looking for facts in the answers that students provide. They need it to be direct to the point. However, I think that short words are not “plain” but complex. For example, prepositions are very complicated. When tasked to define, of, at, on, in and others, what could the definitions be? It is complex. When a person is presented with new words, he or she can define the word even without the prepositions. Also, even though prepositions are meant to make other words understandable, other shorter words are still complicated. Checking words such as, set, stand, and run on an English dictionary, each of them has more than fifteen definitions, making the complicated to understand.
The readers can partially accept the content of the article due to the logic that the author provided. Using a direct quote from a renowned writer in Winston Churchill gives the article authority. Winston Churchill mentioned the value of old words, especially the shorter ones. However, the explanation from the author can be less satisfying because there are some complicated terminologies. A reader has to look up some words to understand what the author meant at some point. Majority of readers expect simple vocabulary to feel the flow of the text. For instance, the author uses vocabulary such as grunts, gist among other words that are not naturally understood. Therefore, apart from using Churchill’s quote, the question is, did the author interpreted the quote correctly? I think the author did not adequately explain how long should short words be.
The author used pathos efficiently. The author convinces the readers with sentences that draw the attention of the readers. The author uses third person narration to personify “short words.” For example, the author says, “they do all that you want them…” The author is trying to explain that the short words can deliver the exact message the encoder meant. The author also used the second person to refer to the readers. The readers feel like the author speaks directly to them. Apart from narration, the author uses other literary devices to explain the article’s line of argument. For instance, the use of rhetorical questions makes the readers think critically before answering the questions inwardly. Critical thinking can make the readers understand the content of the discussion. The author also uses similes to stress the importance of short words. For example, he refers to short words to be soft as silk, tough as boots, and sharp as steel. Therefore, the use of such literary devices makes it easier for the author to catch the attention of the readers of the article.
Lastly, the author displayed the context of ethos as the article could convince the audience since the author appeared to explain the facts as though he or she understood them better. The language gurus such as Lane Greene can relate with the author because he argued that short words are simple, clear and memorable (Stibbe). However, the failure of the author to provide a name for the article and instead remained anonymous gives doubt about the confidence he or she has on the work.
Therefore, I agree with the author of the article that we should keep it simple. However, together with Winston Churchill and other language gurus like Greene, the author should explain what “short, simple and plain” mean. How many words make a sentence short?
Works Cited
“Out with the long.” The Economist. Oct 7, 2004, www.economist.com/node/3262983
Stibbe, Mathew. “Short Words are Best.” Visual Thesaurus. May 22, 2006,
www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/short-words-are-best/