Don't Be Simplistic

I wanted to pair my previous post with this one. Although I mentioned it at the end, it deserves this juxtaposition. Being highfalutin is bad, but so is being simplistic.

Let me be clear: simple means 'plain, uncomplicated'; simplistic means 'characterized by a forced, unwarranted simplicity' (source).

I will always advocate being simple. The less meaningless drivel in your writing, the better. But if you believe that you are better off always choosing the simpler words, then you are being simplistic, and you are doing just as much damage to your writing.

Some people may think that 'cumbersome' is too big of a word. You could simply use words like 'awkward' or 'heavy' or a phrase such as 'like a burden'. But neither of those words fully describe what 'cumbersome' conveys, and trying to use a phrase to describe the word is more cumbersome than just using the word itself.

Ultimately, it will be an opinion what words are too sophisticated and which ones are not, but there are guidelines. If your sentence is too heavy to easily say, your words are too much. If your sentence is too long to easily say, your words are too simplistic.

Always, there is a balance, and that balance is called succinct.