One of the best article writing tips I ever actually listened to was put to me like an edict by an English Literature professor at Southern New Hampshire University.  He said:

“Never underestimate the power of short words.”

Like many self-trained and self-styled writers my craft was full of terrible habits that I wasn’t even conscious of at the time.  This statement was the professor’s polite way of informing me that my writing was too stuffy, too formal and far too Shakespearean in an era where most readers have an attention span that lasts for less than two minutes.  Honestly, I felt that short words would “dumb down” my writing.  I was wrong. Read More Here