Structuring lists within sentences
I often find myself frustrated with the way that writers structure lists Here's an example from a book I'm reading at the moment:'You've no doubt spent years acquiring skills, talents, qualifications, experience and knowledge and building your network and contacts'This sentence is tough on readers It's a list with two parts - things that you've been acquiring and things that you've been building But the set of things that you've been acquiring has four sub-parts, while the set of things that...
Read moreSimple signs communicate quickly
I was enjoying some autumn sun this morning, when I noticed this sign in a playgroundSurely there's a short and simple way to give the same message! What parent has enough time to read a 58 word signBy the time you've figured out what a 'play element' is, when the 'heat of the day' might be, and what it means to 'check the surfaces of individual play elements', your child has either run on the street or burned their hands!Wouldn't it be clearer to write Caution Playground equipment...
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