The editorial team at EzineArticles.com has published a fascinating and controversial infographic that includes 100 Words Every Expert Author Should Know.
I’m curious about what you think about this list.
Would you use words on this list in your writing if you didn’t know what they meant and first had to look up the definition?
Do you think long words make the writer sound more intelligent or more of an expert?
Or do you think the words sound pretentious?
What I like best about this list is that it attracted a flood of comments.
Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I doubt that my 6,000 subscribers in 87 countries would open my ezines with subject lines using most of those arcane words. They may be of interest to university professors of English (which I once was), but not to many others. Best to write like Hemingway with simple Anglo-Saxon words than like James Joyce, who I’m still trying to understand.
Best to all who read this.
Academia and government are the worst offenders. Wish they could all just keep it simple. Thanks for commenting, Loren.
Experience has taught me that most people prefer small, easy to understand words. I’ve tried larger words in my writing and when nothing happened, I figured it was too complex to understand.
I first understood I have a large vocabulary in high school. My Freshman year, to be exact. My English teacher gave a vocabulary test to see what level everyone was at. In a class that was roughly 75% seniors, I got the 85% score on the test. That meant I had a college level vocabulary my first year of high school. I should probably blame my hours reading the encyclopedia while doing laundry for that, but I was at the same time glad I didn’t have to deal with the vocabulary homework I always ended up bored with.
Using large words around people, and this is a long-term observation, I found they really didn’t understand me, as if I were speaking another language entirely. That’s when I started exploring synonyms that are more commonly used for words that are more complex. Didn’t take long for the Thesaurus to become my best friend.
For many words, I don’t need to look up the definition, but I like reminding myself what they mean. I still sometimes use the more complicated words that are harder to understand for others, but I try to keep that to a minimum.
Have you ever tried reading a George Will column? If not, Google him.
Hate to say it, but not many people my age understand that kind of writing anymore.
I read a series that starts with the book “Fortress in the Eye of Time” and did a four book report on the series in high school. The author’s known for being difficult to read, but I understood her – my English teacher did not, though I did all I possibly could to clarify the story line. That was when I figured it was better to be understood than to use the more complicated words. Even more important to me is making sure my comic books’ target audience understands what’s being said.
Better to be understood and read than not understood and left on the shelf.
Your English teacher didn’t understand the author? But you did?
Congratulations for knowing that and for making sure your own comic books are easy to read. Thanks for commenting, Jennifer.
That particular author merely requires that the reader slow down and take a little extra time to fully understand the story. My English teacher genuinely didn’t understand in spite of my mapping out the story among other things to make it easier. She finally gave up and gave me an A just because she didn’t understand but saw that I clearly did. They’re excellent books, provided you take the time to read very carefully.
For my books, it makes sense to be sure the reader understands what’s going on and since the usual audience for comic books like mine is young, it doesn’t mean they’ll look up the fancier words, but might instead decide they’re not interested in what they don’t understand. I do slip the more complex words in that parents might know, but overall, they’re easy enough for all ages to understand and enjoy. Aside from that, they’re artistically unique: http://www.dreamangelsparadise.com/blog/ The books are linked in the left sidebar. The blog itself has character profiles and a soft “action figure” store. For books that are the all ages type, it’s a good idea for them to be easily understood. That’s just common sense.
[…] Do expert authors need to know this list of 100 words?. […]
I would rather stick to words that I am sure my readers would know the meaning of.
If I was going to use a word that was fairly obscure, I would make sure my post contained enough of a definition of the word so the reader would understand. (Or at least provide content that made the meaning clear.)
Cathy, thanks for joining in. Appreciate your comments.
Assonance? Motif?
I am an English teacher, and the only time I have ever used those words was when I was teaching them.
Exactly. Thanks for joining the conversation, Janice.
Walt Whitman wrote “The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.”
The list reminds me of words one would find in the verbal section of a GRE exam or the results from an exercise in using a thesaurus. If a reader needs to spend time figuring out the words used, the message will be lost. Simplicity increases clarity. I would rather have the masses understand my message rather than a handful of people dazzled with my vocabulary exercise.
The author maintains experts don’t actually need to use all those words. Just know them. And use the ones you need where appropriate. Like you, I’m from the K.I.S.S. school of writing. Thamnks for commenting, Robyn.
The best thing about reading on a Kindle? You can just touch the word to find the definition!
Isn’t technology grand? Thanks for commenting, Jennifer.
If one is simply trying to gain attraction to their post or trying to increase their click-count, this is not the way to go. As an avid reader and walking reference guide (dubbed by my close writing friends), a writer will lose my interest the moment they use larger-than-life words.
Should an expert know these words? If that’s the everyday vocabulary of his network, yes. Otherwise, the KISS method works well for the average reader.
And just for a note of levity, when I began reading this list I thought someone should write a song with them. We already have one for the Periodic Table of Elements.
The Publicity Hound writes common sense stuff on a comfortable level. Just right, and therefore easy and popular. Kudos to you.
The title “100 words every expert author should know” is brilliant. The list, however, is mostly nonsense although some words are useful. If authors use words like ‘obfuscate’ or ‘discombobulate’ to appear experts when a word like ‘confuse’ works better, it is a mistake. No. Absolutely not. Don’t make this list your bible. Imagine reading too often words like vernacular and antebellum, mnemonic and unctuous. Pick a few good words from the list. If you absolutely need a fancy or difficult synonym, check out thesaurus.com and use it sparingly. Respect your readers at all levels. Use simple words and short sentences. Complicated words are intimidating and irritating.They imply the writer wants you to think he knows more than you. If your readers need a dictionary more than once to know your meaning, they forget what they are reading and you lose them. I would not continue to read fussy, fancy, flippant, frivolous words in a blog or ezine. They have no place in today’s social media and quick communication. Did you ever see the first brochures of the Apple computer? The sentences were one, two or three words. Unimaginable, yet stunningly powerful. It was a great marketing tool to instantly mean that the computer itself was easy to use. If you want to read complicated words, read fiction that was painful to write and is painful to read. Or read technical jargon or legal documents. Parents continue to buy “easy-to-assemble” toys for children but cannot understand the instructions. Write so that the reading is pleasant and friendly at any level. Easy reading might be hard work but worth it. Your readers and reviewers will love it and come back for more. Write so that they will say: “I don’t even know how to (——), but I understand what you mean.” You cannot get a higher compliment.
Leila, you’re so right. I don’t like fussy, fancy, flippant or frivolous either. Thanks for stopping by.