Definition:
A characteristic of a speech or prose composition that communicates effectively with its intended audience. In general, the qualities of clearly written prose include a carefully defined purpose, logical organization, well-constructed sentences, and precise word choice. Verb: clarify. Contrast with gobbledygook. See also:
- Skotison
- Practice in Cutting the Clutter
- Ten Principles of Effective Writing
- Kurt Vonnegut on Writing With Style
- Samuel Johnson on the Bugbear Style
Etymology:
From the Latin, "clear"Observations
- "When asked what qualities they value most in writing, people who must read a great deal professionally put clarity at the top of their list. If they have to invest too much effort in figuring out the writer's meaning, they will give up in dismay or annoyance."
(Maxine C. Hairston, Successful Writing, Norton, 1992) - "All men are really attracted by the beauty of plain speech [but they] write in a florid style in imitation of this."
(Henry David Thoreau, quoted by J.M. Williams in Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 1981) - "There are so many ways of being clear! So many different audiences to be clear to! When I tell you to 'Be clear!' I am simply telling you to 'Succeed,' 'Get the message across.' Again, good advice but not much real help. I have not solved your problem, I've simply restated it. 'Clarity,' in such a formulation, refers not to words on a page but to responses, yours or your reader's. And the writer has to write words on a page, not ideas in a mind. . . .
"The 'successful communication' that 'clarity' points to is finally our success in getting someone else to share our view of the world, a view we have composed by perceiving it. And if this is true of perception it must hold true for prose too. To write is to compose a world as well as view one."
(Richard Lanham, Analyzing Prose, Continuum, 2003)
