The economics of writing

Differences exist between oral and written communication. For example, as a spoken message passes from one person to another, the accuracy of the message declines. Furthermore, we soon lose 50 percent of what we hear and within two days we´ll lose another 25 percent. This article argues that written communication, thoughtfully and thoroughly revised, is a better way. The author asserts that the average length of a letter or memo can be cut in half with no change in meaning by purging it of three forms of clutter: redundancy, deadwood, and roundabout phrases.