The author of " The Case for Short Words ", Richard Lederer, makes a convincing case that short words are effective. Short words pack a powerful punch. They make the writer and the speaker use them easily. At the same time, the reader and the listener will be interested in the effect short words cause on them. Night, day, life, death ,love , hate, war and peace are all short but big words. They are monosyllables but their meaning is important. Ordinary people ,poets and writers use them all the time; short words are " sharp like the blade of a knife". In comparison, big words are difficult to pronounce and to comprehend. Short words are easier to pronounce since our tongue is accustomed to them; we have known them since birth. Besides, short words are the majority in English; fifty percent of the most common words are short. Shakespeare and his contemporaries used them all the time. They could turn some messages from the Bible into speeches of short words. Proverbs are also made up of short words," Spare the rod and spoil the child". Politicians use short words when they explain their policies to Parliament. Finally, children use them at school when they are asked to write ,and when they use them , their taks are really effective.
