56. are pieced 57. joined 58. stability 59. in 60. where 61. remains (n.) 62. known 63. systematic
56. to pass 57. requiring 58. classics (n.) 59. staged 60. innovative 61. whom 62. but 63. sixtieth 64. with 65.commitment
The authors present well-established principles that have long been prized in guides to writing including The Economist’s style book (which Johnson helped update): cut unnecessary words, choose those that remain from the bedrock vocabulary everyone knows and keep syntax simple. But “Writing for Busy People” brings evidence.
Take “less is more”. Most books on writing well preach the advice to omit needless words. The authors, however, have tested the notion. For example, in an email to thousands of school-board members asking them to take a survey, cutting the length from 127 to 49 words almost doubled the response rate (from a paltry 2.7% to 4.8%). The researchers found that a longer message makes recipients think the task (such as filling out a survey) will take longer, too.