Make a similar study of advertisements for a set of books, of chewing gum, of an automobile, and of a piece of machinery in some technical publication. Compare results with a similar count in a newspaper paragraph, an encyclopedia paragraph, and paragraphs from Macaulay, Dickens, Carlyle, and Kipling. II. Clearness Clear, simple language, language that will be readily understood by the least intelligent of your possible customers, is an essential of good advertising. Every word that is above the lowest reasonable level of understanding limits the number of possible customers. The railroad attorney who was asked to write a notice that would warn people to be careful at railroad crossings did not dig into his law books for a polysyllabic sentence like this: "Whereas this is the intersection of a public highway with the right-of-way of the ---- Railroad Corporation, each and every individual is hereby advised to exercise extreme caution." He wrote a sentence which is a classic in its way "Stop! Look! Listen! Railroad Crossing." III. Assignment II In the advertisements selected for Assignment I, count the number of words in each sentence and strike an average for each. Make a comparison with sentence length in other writings as suggested. IV. Adaptation to Audience The degree to which the simplification of language in an advertisement should be carried depends upon the audience addressed. It is evident that a larger and less educated portion of the public is included in the possible customers for breakfast food and chewing gum than there are in the portion who would be likely to purchase a set of books. An even smaller portion of the public would be interested in an automobile or a piece of automatic machinery. A good advertisement should be framed in language that will be understood by all possible purchasers of an article. Many household articles, such as bread, breakfast food, candy, and confections, are advertised in language that a fourth-grade child will readily understand. V. Assignment III Write an advertisement for an athletic contest in which your school will take part, addressing it to the students in your school. Write an advertisement to introduce a new candy or confection among grammar-school children. Write an advertisement for boys' hats; for girls' hats; for overalls; for a magazine devoted to automobiles; for a magazine devoted to fiction. VI. Simplicity in Structure