Clarity Pays

In my career as a writer and editor, it only makes sense that poor and unclear writing would be one of my betes noires. But it's nice to see that I'm not alone. In a report released today, the National Commission on Writing claims that poor writing costs the government hundreds of millions of dollars each year--and that's just the cost of giving employees remedial training. A survey of state workers was conducted by the National Governors Association. Arkansas's Mike Huckabee, the organization's vice chairman, claimed, "It's impossible to calculate the ultimate cost of lost productivity because people have to read things two and three times." Just one third of the state managers surveyed reported that their clerical and support staff had adequate writing skills. If you extend these figures to the private sector, the number of employees with substandard writing skills becomes astronomical. I may be going out on a limb, but what would happen if, while we were making sure we didn't leave any children behind, we taught them to write properly, as well.