Are your sentences too long?
Here is a way to quickly identify sentence length in your next document:
1. Print out your draft.
2. Use a red pen and draw a forward slash (/) over each period.
3. Identify the varying lengths of your sentences.
Short sentences can be powerful. Use short sentences to begin or end paragraphs. A call to action is effective and clear when expressed as a short sentence. Incorporate the super-short one or two-word sentence for impact. Example: Stop now!
Long sentences may work best to express complex ideas or outline multiple steps.
Varying sentence lengths will capture your reader’s interest! You may find yourself deleting, rewriting, or rearranging your content to keep your audience intrigued.
Until next time, Happy Writing,
Jackie
