Fancy words.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: Tilting at Windmills - SAT prep courses - Brief Article

Did you see The Washington Post article by Michael Dobbs that the SAT prep courses are now urging students to use fancy instead of simple words when writing the newly required essay? They recommend "antithesis" over "opposite," and "irrefutable" or "incontrovertible" instead of "true." And for "false," they prefer "untenable" or "fallacious." They must think Hemingway would fail the SAT.

I've been fortunate enough to have edited a good many really fine writers. They have taught me that the fancy word is...