And when your words are wrong, your ideas are misunderstood, the intended message is garbled, and communication ceases. Finding just the right word can at time be difficult and involves more than a cursory glance through Roget's Thesaurus . A short word generally is preferable to a long word. A concrete term is clearer than an abstract idea. A specific word is better than a broad generality.
Common words are more understandable than jargon.
Clich s should almost always be avoided. Check your grammar and usage. Using a word incorrectly or making a mistake in grammatical construction is the mark of a careless writer. Readers are often confused by the lack of agreement between a pronoun and its antecedent or between a subject and its verb. Dangling participles, misplaced modifiers, and dozens of other grammar and usage problems not only can cause reader confusion but also can turn an editor against your manuscript.