A Word Please
by June Casagrande

June Casagrande

Based loosely on certain various research that I, myself, have recently and thoroughly conducted regarding various positions on the art and science of effective writing, I have ultimately come to the conclusion that there indeed exists a dispute of sorts regarding the question of whether or not short sentences are in fact preferable to their more verbose counterparts -- a dispute to which I can offer the clear and decisive answer: usually.

In case you couldn't stomach that sentence, allow me to translate: People argue about whether short sentences are a must. The dispute is rooted in the advice of English teachers and textbooks dating back decades. In the 1950s, for example, a guide called "Watch Your Language" instructed readers to keep "one idea to a sentence." In 1920, William Strunk published in his original "Elements of Style" the dictate "avoid needless words," which has been interpreted by many to mean pretty much the same thing.

And, as with so many other bits of writing advice, this one has been misinterpreted, overstated and ultimately rebelled against. Writers' Internet message boards are filled with passionate debate on the subject, with naysayers pointing to countless great writers who clearly preferred long sentences.

Give writers a "rule" and they'll rebel against it.

The problem is, "use short sentences" is not and has never been a rule for writers. For students in certain classes it has -- classes where the teacher demands it. But that doesn't mean that this is a rule writers should rebel against.

Instead, it's actually a great piece of wisdom buried in a poorly expressed piece of advice.

Long sentences, in my opinion, are a viable option, but only for people who have mastered short sentences. In the hands of a skilled writer, every idea or piece of information is expressible as a short sentence. Additional ideas or information can be tacked on in the form of prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses or coordinating clauses. But since most sentences have just one main clause, such additions are just accessories. And, as any fashion expert can tell you, while accessories can complement a person's look, too many accessories overwhelm it.

Consider a sentence like: "As Karen ascended the stairs, toward the room where her father had once stored all the family's most shocking keepsakes -- the pictures of the branches of the family whose identities were kept secret from the world -- she heard a squeaking noise as her footsteps touched the steps, which she had never heard before and which made her wonder whether the boards below her feet had somehow come loose."

Now see what happens when you break that up: "Karen ascended the stairs. She was headed for the room where her father had once stored the family's most shocking keepsakes. There had been photographs there -- pictures of family members no one knew they had. The stairs squeaked under her feet. They had never done that before. She wondered, had the floorboards in the stairwell somehow come loose?

Often, but not always, less is more. Shorter sentences can have more impact. Longer sentences, while a viable option, are too often used by people who simply don't know how to manage them.

Contrary to popular perception, "The Elements of Style" agrees. Yet "The Careful Writer" puts it best. The one-idea-to-a-sentence principle "was not intended as a guide for literary writing, nor for any kind of writing in which style or evocation of mood is a prime consideration. Yet it can contribute to both these objectives, as Hemingway, among others, showed."

Exactly.

June Casagrande is author of "Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies." She can be reached at word@grammarsnobs.com.