4. Exactness.—Exactness is a factor in securing simplicity. Words must be accurate and appropri ate. It is a good idea to put the following test to the choice of words: 1. Does the word express what you have in mind? 2. Will it convey the same idea to your reader? 3. Will its impression upon your reader be such as to aid in the acceptance of your ideas? Words that are not exact in their meaning are vague, ambiguous or obscure. If the writer of an advertisement is not sure of what he wants to say, is vague. If lie is not extremely careful in his phra seology, he is ambiguous, that is, his meaning may be interpreted in more than one way. If he does not have a sufficiently extensive vocabulary to say what he wishes to say, he is obscure.
In order to secure accuracy in expression, the thought must be clear in the writer's mind. In al most any advertisement it is possible to tell whether or not the writer's grasp of his subject is clear. As in photography, where a blurred negative is sure to produce a blurred print, so in writing advertisements, hazy mental images cannot be made to produce an exact description. As there is bound to be some loss in force when thoughts are transmitted from one per son to another, the importance of clear imagery on the writer's part is emphasized.
There, are two ways of avoiding ambiguity. -One is to learn the exact differences in meaning between words whose significance is similar; the other is to arrange words in logical order. As the transposition of figures in a number may affect the entire import of a statement, so wrong order in the arrangement of words affects the meaning of the sentence.
The use of a large vocabulary tends to remedy ob scurity of expression. As words are the working tools of "ad" writing, familiarity with all kinds of words is necessary—Anglo-Saxon and classical de rivatives, technical and non-technical terms, so that the writer may have a big stock from which to choose.
5. Emotional and intellectual value of words.—All words are not equally serviceable. Some from their derivation or association suggest more to our minds than others. Some have greater value in stimulat ing thought and the reasoning process; others have greater value in suggesting images or creating emo tions. If the emotions are to be aroused, words that appeal to the sensibilities must be used; if the in tellect is to be appealed to, the phraseology must stimulate thought. The use of the right word is a matter of primary importance.
6. Short words.—The simplest words of the Eng lish language are Anglo-Saxon in origin. When
Old English or Anglo-Saxon became a written lan guAge the people were not far advanced in civiliza tion, consequently they had no great range of ideas to express and they did not develop an extensive vo cabulary. They used words which express the ideas and feelings that are common to all humanity. Thus, words expressing elementary relationships as father, mother, son, daughter, heat, cold, light, dark, fear, love, hate, are Anglo-Saxon in origin. As a rule, the short Old English words express greater emotional force than derivatives from the Latin and are more generally understood. It is not considered effective to say of tooth paste that "the constituents of this re markable detergent compound have been assembled with such scientific accuracy that the savor with which the gustatory sensations are awakened is a pleasure long to be retained in the memory." How much more striking is the sentence, "Russian soldier finds Kolynos so good he eats it." 7. Long words.—When an advertising appeal is directed exclusively to the well-read, or is primarily technical, it is perfectly safe to use long words that express fine shades of meaning. However, it is al ways bad taste to use long words when they appear pretentious. To explain the technical structure of complex mechanisms long words of classical origin are often absolutely necessary. For example, there is nothing pretentious or pedantic about the following description of the Willard Storage Battery: The electrical system in your car is as near as man can come to perpetual motion. . . . Your battery is chemical not mechanical. It accumu lates energy but does not originate it. As the cur rent flows out of it to the lights, starting the motor and other parts, it grows weaker because the' ele ments of its plates are changing into different sub stances. But when a current is sent thru it in the opposite direction by the generator these elements change back to their former condition and the bat tery is said to be charged.
8. Idioms.—By idioms we mean those expressions which-have grown up with the people from early times and which cannot be translated. Idioms are the life and spirit of the language. Their very ruggedness gives them strength. The English expression "How do you do?" cannot be translated word for word into any other language and make sense. ' Neither does the French idiom "Comment vows portez-vous?" make sense when translated word for word.