17a. Jargon
17aStay away from jargon.
Jargon is special language used among members of a trade, profession, or group. Use jargon only when readers will be familiar with it and when plain English will not do as well.
| jargon | We outsourced the work to an outfit in Ohio because we didn’t have the bandwidth to tackle it in-house. |
| revised | We hired a company in Ohio because we had too few employees to do the work. |
Broadly defined, jargon includes puffed-up language designed more to impress readers than to inform them. The following are examples from business, government, higher education, and the military, with plain English alternatives in parentheses.
| ameliorate (improve) | indicator (sign) |
| commence (begin) | optimal (best, most favorable) |
| components (parts) | parameters (boundaries, limits) |
| endeavor (try) | peruse (read, look over) |
| exit (leave) | prior to (before) |
| facilitate (help) | utilize (use) |
| impact (v.) (affect) | viable (workable) |
Sentences filled with jargon are hard to read, and they are often wordy as well.
