Build drama, create rhythm and more
Short sentences are best. But make every sentence simple and short, and your copy will read like “See Dick run” primers.… Read the full article
Sentence length
How long should a sentence be?
Short sentences are easier to understand than long sentences
Add a word to your sentence, and you’ll reduce comprehension. Add another once, reduce it even further.… Read the full article
Identify the passive voice
It’s when the subject is acted upon
What is the passive voice?
“It’s Yoda talk,” says one of my clients.
Well … not exactly. Here are three ways to activate the passive voice:
1.
… Read the full articleThe long and the short of it
Build drama, create rhythm by varying sentence length
But make every sentence simple and short, and your copy will read like “See Dick run” primers.… Read the full article
Search and destroy conjunctions
And, Or and So can increase sentence length
Sentences too long? Use Microsoft Word’s “find” function to search for conjunctions. They include:
- And
- Or
- Also
- But
- So
- Then
- Plus
When one of my writing coachees tried this trick, she found 23 “and’s” in a 500-word article.… Read the full article
Make messages move faster
Partial sentences make your copy clip along faster
Mrs. Webb, your 3rd-grade teacher, probably counseled you to avoid sentence fragments.
Mrs. Webb was wrong. Sentence fragments can help you:
- Create drama
- Make a transition
- Emphasize an important idea
- Change the pace of your piece
- Make your copy sound conversational
- And, of course, make sentences shorter
Write fragments like Paul Harding.
… Read the full articleGet the words out
Write tight sentences, like the Times
How long should your sentences be?
According to the American Press institute:
- When the average sentence length in a piece was fewer than eight words long, readers understood 100% of the story.
One-minute sentence clinic
How to fix this winner of Ann’s Bad Writing Contest
“Revving Up Readership” subscriber Burton St. John sent this sentence to Ann’s Bad Writing Contest:
“The relative importance of and relationships between design processes and production/delivery processes depend upon many factors, including the nature of the products and services, technology requirements, issues of modularity and parts commonality, customer and supplier relationships and involvement, product and service customization, and overall company strategy.”
Quotes on using more periods
What writers and others say
“A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.”
— Anonymous
“A couple of issues about ending on a strong direct quote.
… Read the full articlePleading for shorter sentences
Reach the period sooner
The story goes that when future columnist James J. Kilpatrick was a young newspaper reporter, he wrote lots of deadly long sentences.… Read the full article