Lederer: Chapter Summary

1. Lederer writes about short words in paragraph 5-7 to explain that, the structure helped Lederer focus on the power of the message he was trying to put across. He wanted to explain to people the importance of writing with short words instead of using big words.

2. Lederer gives certain examples to inform the reader that authors also use short words. The variety he uses gives the reader a clearer picture of how short words have been used in the text for decades. Short words are simple to use and most everyone knows short words. Authors use words to connect with the reader and many times the author tries to make clear to the reader. Each illustration gains impact from the inclusion of the others because there are similar words being used.

In this simile Lederer is comparing words we learned since birth to a warm, familiar home. “Small words are the ones we seem to have known from the time we were born, like the hearth fire that warms the home (Lederer. 161).”

In this metaphor he is implying to make the short words the spine and heart of what we speak and write (Lederer. 161). Our spine and heart is what keeps our body supported and alive

4. The pressure Lederer’s students feel when they have to write polysyllables using small words comes from the students not knowing how to use small words. Lederer’s students felt as if they had no clue what they were going to write about. But in the end result the students feel as if they have accomplished something great. It relates to the central purpose of the essay because many people are like Lederer’s ninth grade students (Lederer. 162). We do not know how to write with short words. The way we speak is the way we write.

5. Lederer closes his final paragraph with a reminder that short words are used everywhere, even on the highway. We should tell ourselves to use short words as much as we can.

6. Short words are bright like sparks that glow in the night (Lederer.