In Which This Essay Dictates:

The Wrongs And Rights Of The Clutter That Litters

The Written Word In This Day And Age
Throughout the years of education and adolescence, the main goal of all English teachers
is to extract what the students really mean in their short-answer responses and free-writes. The
long uttered thats what I meant! phrase has been the savior to many students and teachers
alike. Cluttered language and round-about phrases littered with technical jargon have long been
the bane of many peoples existence. To live within the written world is to become privy to the
secret code to the jargon and lingo belonging to a certain sect. In the article, Simplicity, by
William Zinsser, the golden rule of writing is revealed: writing is difficult with a cluttered mind,
for it produces cluttered language; writing is facilitated by a clear mind, for it produces clear
language. In the article, Doubts About Doublespeak, by William Lutz, examples of
doublespeak litter each and every paragraph and sentence in lieu of simpler words. He argues
that within the four types of doublespeak, two types scheme to modify the worlds perspective of
the subject. Through the use of language, both authors purpose is revealed; Zinssers article
shows how simplification is essential to clear writing while Lutzs article accuses doublespeak of
altering societys perception of reality.
In each article, there are several carefully constructed sentences where the tone is
embedded and, in turn, subtly revealed. In Zinssers article, it is within his last sentence that his
tone is made known, If you find that writing is hard, its because it is hard. Often, articles are
meant to relay a certain message to their audience. His purpose is much like a relay race; the
baton must be passed around for his message to reach the whole, of society. He hands the baton

off with such a didactic grace that the reader is left with a sense of obligation to simply do as he
says. Throughout the article, Zinssers intention of building up on examples of why someone
people cannot understand cluttered writing is because cluttered writing is not good writing. He
gives his final instruction that writing is hard because it is hard to clear the mind. His tone of
moral teachings is seen from his instructive approach to revealing to the reader that cluttered
writing is bad writing and therefore is not linear in any way to intelligence levels. Zinssers
didactic tone is suitable to his article because he gives off a sense of moral obligation to impart
this wisdom unto the reader. On the other hand, Lutz has a rather satirical tone in which there is
an undercurrent of accusation as seen through his exaggerations of doublespeak examples: with
doublespeak its not dying but terminal living or negative patient care outcome. He directly
accuses doublespeak in this insistence of covering up something as terrible a subject as death
with euphemism, and thus enlightens the reader to Lutzs true feelings on doublespeak. His
accusatory tone with the added irony of the quotations is stated so blatantly that it seems Lutz
has not settled for anything else than the revelation of his absolute disdain for doublespeak in this
insistence. The two tones are so obviously different save for the sole fact that they are both
viably suited for their respective articles.
Zinsser also incorporated quotations to help get his message across the reading board.
Using simplify, simply from Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Zinsser uses this simple motto
to express his simple advice for how to write well. The purpose of his article is simple: keep the
mind clear and simple and the writing will be clear and simple. Keep the words simple, keep the
sentences simple, and keep the message simple. Zinsser applies Thoreaus motto for life to
writing for writing is an extension of life. To live in words may be horrific for various people but
for a greater half of the worlds population, it is within words that life and found; where life is

killed and reborn much like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its life. Simple, to have life come
from death, and simple, to derive clear writing from a clear mind. Zinssers use of this quote is
thereby an extension of his purpose to simply all means of life, including the passage in between
clear thinking and simple writing. As the quote Zinsser used stays consistent with his tone, the
quotation Lutz uses is equally as consistent with his accusatory and penetrating tone. Lutz refers
to what Samuel Johnson noted in 18th century England as, even the devils in hell do not lie to
one another, since the society of hell could not subsist without the truth, In this quote, Lutz
compares the treachery that is doublespeak to be of something even more vile than something
used and seen in hell. He believes that even hell has higher standards than the living world, thus
expressing his belief that the world is a society full of hypocrites. The tone of the article is the
same of the one Lutz uses, mocking with a sneer and a scowl, drawling undertones of distaste,
narrowed eyes of distrust and disgust and pupils that condemn even in the bitter words uttered in
a mocking voice by eighteenth century critic with words that are still relevant today. The quote
accurately expresses Lutzs purpose of teaching his audience to distrust doublespeak and to turn
their back on euphemisms, jargon, bureaucratese, and inflated language. The two quotes that
both authors have chosen to reflect their respective articles purpose has stayed consistent with
the tone in which they state their purpose.
Within the context of the articles, formation of the structure of the words is correctly
suited to each articles purpose. As seen in Zinssers article, he uses much parallel structure to
list his various reasons for why writing with a cluttered mind produces cluttered results. In using
this method, each one of his sentences has a purpose and an action, thus utilizing his own advice
in which a clear mind produces clear writing. This clarity is formatted and seen in the way he
uses parallel structure, every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short

word, every adverb that carries the same meaning thats already in the verb In each part of the
sentence, a section of the parallel structure accomplishes a part of the whole sentences purpose.
He defiantly tells his audience that each word should serve a function and he shows an example
of this in this sentence where each word does serve a function and in a whole, the sentence is not
a wasted sentence, for it has purpose, and a simple purpose that is executed neatly and simply.
The use of parallel structure allows Zinsser to get his purpose across in a single sentence rather
than several sentences or a clunky, wordy, run-on sentence. On the other side of the spectrum,
Lutz utilizes long sentences to show his satire in doublespeak, however, it is within his
telegraphic sentences that his accusatory tone and his true purpose comes to light. As Lutz states
plainly and without the use of several exaggerated quotations, this is called pacification. The
use of the telegraphic sentence serves Lutzs purpose because within four words, a sense of
accusation and irony is thrust upon the reader. In one of the few sentences from Lutzs article, no
quotations or euphemisms are found, for Lutz is highlighting the how much doublespeak is
censoring language. He uses a simple periodic sentence to juxtapose how simple it is to evade
doublespeak and how the word has become to rely upon doublespeak to shield them from the
horrors of the daily day. This juxtaposition from his previous sentences forces the reader to
evaluate the truth of Lutzs words. This is a simple sentence that is easy to understand for it has
no hidden meaning, no jargon or inflated high-vocabulary words. The irony is not lost in the
juxtaposition and this is Lutzs final plea to show how dangerous doublespeak in society is. The
power of censorship in doublespeak is great and this is Lutzs way to show that censorship is
deadly to society for it closes our eyes to a world of hurt that lives next door, a pond away. The
power of language formation is seen in the way both Zinsser and Lutz utilize language structures

Though the two articles have different purposes on a similar subject, through their
common use of language, their separate, but equally important purposes are portrayed through
the use of tone, quotations, and syntax. Zinssers simple message of keeping the mind clear to
produce clear, simplified writing sits on a level of equal importance to heed the warnings that
Lutz tells of about doublespeak altering societys perception of reality through euphemisms of
the worlds more unpleasant events. Through different tones of a didactic baton in a relay race of
spreading the word rather than words, and an equally satirical and accusatory tone, Zinsser and
Lutz have created articles that spell out the difficulty of writing with a cluttered mind and the
danger that doublespeak poses to society.