"Nay, does the writer himself always know just what he means? Even when he knows what he means, and says it in a way that is clear to him, is it always equally clear to his reader? If not, he has not been getting on with his job. 'The difficulty', says Robert Louis Stevenson, 'is not to write, but to write what you mean, not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish'."

 

Sir Earnest Gowers, Plain Words, A Guide to the Use of English, London 1948

(From the Prologue)

With grateful thanks to Dr. Frances Mannsaker, University of Glamorgan