Bad Writing News from All Over

A Washington official complained bitterly that field employees failed to follow a simple procedure described in a standard departmental manual. The employees’ answer: “It was easier to write to Washington for directions than to struggle with the instruction manual.”

Dr. Morris Fishbein of the American Medical Association writes: “The ability to write succinctly and accurately seems to be found less and less frequently among graduates of medical schools.”

George Orwell, British political essayist and novelist, contends; “De- terioration in language and its use are symptoms of political and social decline.”