Write short sentences
Q. What’s the shortest sentence?
Write sentences in 20 or fewer words.
- To state you point concisely.
- To keep your readers’ attention.
- To help your readers understand.
Write occasional sentences of 10 or fewer words. Or of one or two or three words. If you use too many words, separating the subject from its verb, readers have to hunt for them. Then they have to string your sentence back together for you. How often are they likely to do that?
According to the federal government, you should “Express only one idea in each sentence.” Shorter sentences are also better for conveying complex information; they break the information up into smaller, easier-to-process units. Sentences loaded with dependent clauses and exceptions confuse the reader by losing the main point in a forest of words. Resist the temptation to put everything in one sentence; break up your idea into its parts and make each one the subject of its own sentence.”
Read more at plainlanguage.gov.
Tip: Long sentences are for hardened criminals, not for you.
A. I do.
Keywords: Writing tips
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