{"id":30183,"date":"2023-06-03T11:49:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T15:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?p=30183"},"modified":"2024-01-01T08:07:41","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T12:07:41","slug":"why-use-short-sentences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/","title":{"rendered":"Why use short sentences in writing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Because long ones reduce comprehension<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the problem with long sentences: Every time you add a word, you reduce comprehension. Add another one, reduce it even further. Add another one, reduce it even further.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32216\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32216\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"32216\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/why-use-short-sentences-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"why-use-short-sentences\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why short sentences?&lt;\/strong&gt; Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/question-mark-symbol-made-golden-inflatable-1741030790&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by IMG Stock Studio&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\" alt=\"Why use short sentences\" title=\"Why use short sentences\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-32216 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-300x200.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 450px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 450\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"32216\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/why-use-short-sentences-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"why-use-short-sentences\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why short sentences?&lt;\/strong&gt; Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/question-mark-symbol-made-golden-inflatable-1741030790&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by IMG Stock Studio&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\" alt=\"Why use short sentences\" title=\"Why use short sentences\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-32216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32216\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Why short sentences?<\/strong> Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/question-mark-symbol-made-golden-inflatable-1741030790\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Image by IMG Stock Studio<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There\u2019s almost a one-to-one correlation between sentence length and understanding, according to a study by the American Press Institute.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> The research, based on studies of 410 newspapers, found that with average sentences of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>8 words or less<\/strong>, readers understood 100% of the story.<\/li>\n<li><strong>14 words<\/strong>, readers understood 90% of the information.<\/li>\n<li><strong>43 words<\/strong>, readers understood less than 10%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And that 107-word sentence your subject-matter expert made you write? After reading that sentence, your readers not only don\u2019t know what they\u2019ve read, they also forget where they parked the car. That\u2019s a net loss of knowledge \u2014 not exactly our goal as communicators.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just the American Press Institute. Nearly 140 years of research shows that short sentences are easier to read and understand.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/sup> In fact, sentence length has been proven in the lab \u2014 again and again \u2014 to be one of the top two predictors of reading ease. (Word length and familiarity is the No. 1 predictor.)<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because in long sentences, the subject, verb and object are too far away from each other. They have to rewrite the sentence in their heads so they can understand.<\/p>\n<p>How many times are they going to do that? If it&#8217;s my sister&#8217;s oncologist, sure, I&#8217;ll do it all day long until I understand what&#8217;s going on. But if it&#8217;s a brand message \u2014 a news release or an email newsletter or blog post \u2014 I&#8217;m not going to work that hard, and neither are your readers.<\/p>\n<h3>Breathe or burn.<\/h3>\n<p>Because long sentences reduce understanding, one of my college professors used to make us read our long sentences aloud in front of the entire class. If we ran out of breath before we ran out of sentence, we got an embarrassing reminder of the importance of short sentences.<\/p>\n<p>One professor out there is crueler than mine. He\u2019d make his students light a match and read their sentences out loud. If they ran out of match before they ran out of sentence, they got a <strong><em>painful<\/em><\/strong> reminder of the importance of short sentences.<\/p>\n<h3>Why short sentences?<\/h3>\n<p>Short sentences:<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Increase readability<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sentence length and complexity<\/strong> make up half of the 19 writing attributes that make messages harder to read, found researchers Mabel Vogel and Carleton Washburne in 1928.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup> Those attributes included words per sentence, complex sentences and conjunctions, which link phrases together into longer sentences.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sentence length and the percentage of prepositions<\/strong> compose half of the four elements that achieve a virtually perfect reading grade level correlation, found Edmund B. Coleman in 1965. Prepositions combine clauses into longer sentences.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<li><strong>Shortening and simplifying sentences<\/strong> made revised copy six grade levels easier to read, found researchers Thomas Duffy and Paula Kabance in 1981.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Increase understanding<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Long sentences decrease comprehension<\/strong>, found readability researcher Ralph Ojemann in 1934. He found that sentences including prepositions and dependent clauses reduced understanding.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The more indeterminate clauses a passage includes<\/strong>, the harder it is to understand, found Ralph Tyler and Edgar Dale in 1934. Why? Indeterminate clauses make sentences longer and increase the number of ideas per sentence.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Five sentence characteristics \u2014 including length, passive voice and embedded clauses \u2014 affected comprehension, found readability expert G. R. Klare in 1976.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So \u2026 how long is too long?<\/p>\n<p>____<\/p>\n<p><strong>Appendix<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> American Press Institute via Jon Ziomek, associate professor emeritus, Medill School of Journalism<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a><\/sup> William H. DuBay, Unlocking Language (PDF), Impact Information (Costa Mesa, Calif.), 2006<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup> William H. DuBay, Unlocking Language: The Classic Readability Studies (PDF), Impact Information, 2006, p. 55<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup> William H. DuBay, Smart Language: Readers, Readability, and the Grading of Text (PDF), Impact Information, Jan. 25, 2007, p. 80<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a><\/sup> William H. Dubay, The Principles of Readability (PDF), Impact Information, Aug. 25, 2004, pp. 39-40<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a><\/sup> William H. Dubay, The Principles of Readability (PDF), p. 16<\/p>\n<p><sup><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> William H. Dubay, The Principles of Readability (PDF), p. 39<\/p>\n<div id='MMC-Clear' class='widgets_on_page wop_tiny1  wop_small1  wop_medium1  wop_large1  wop_wide1'>\n\t\t\t<ul><li id=\"custom_html-81\" class=\"widget_text widget widget_custom_html\"><div class=\"textwidget custom-html-widget\"><a title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/clear-writing-training-mmc.png\" alt=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 250px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 250\/250;float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/clear-writing-training-mmc.png\" alt=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max\"><\/noscript><\/a><h3>Reach more readers with tight writing<\/h3>\r\n\t\r\n<p>Would your piece be twice as good if it were half as long? Yes, say readability experts.<\/p>\r\n\t\r\n<p>So how long should your message be? Your paragraphs? Your sentences? Your words? What reading ease level should you hit?<\/p>\r\n\t\r\n<p>Learn how to write clearer, more concise messages at our <a title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>clear-writing course<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"btn btn--depth\" style=\"text-align: center;  margin: 10px 0 20px; width:100%;\"><a id=\"btnTT\" style=\"\" title=\"BOOK NOW\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-width=\"91\">BOOK NOW<\/a>\r\n<!-- [if mso]>\r\n<p style=\"line-height:0;margin:0;\"><v:roundrect xmlns:v=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" style=\"width:153px\" arcsize=\"8%\" strokecolor=\"#D96237\" filled=\"t\"><v:fill type=\"gradient\" angle=\"180\" color=\"#f16522\" color2=\"#f16522\"><\/v:fill><v:textbox style=\"mso-fit-shape-to-text:t\" inset=\"0px,11px,0px,11px\"><center style=\"font-size:16px;line-height:24px;color:#FFFFFF;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:bold;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-text-raise:4px\">BOOK NOW<\/center><\/v:textbox><\/v:roundrect><\/p>\r\n<![endif]--><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><!-- widgets_on_page -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Because long ones reduce comprehension<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[272],"tags":[13064,13065,12249],"class_list":{"0":"post-30183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sentence-length","8":"tag-long-sentences","9":"tag-predictors","10":"tag-short-sentences","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why use short sentences in writing?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why use short sentences in writing?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wylie Communications, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WylieCommunications\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.wylie.33\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-03T15:49:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-01T12:07:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-fb.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ann Wylie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Why use short sentences in writing?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-twitter.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AnnWylie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AnnWylie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ann Wylie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ann Wylie\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85f5e705a38c31f4a0c59c982a66ce5e\"},\"headline\":\"Why use short sentences in writing?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-03T15:49:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-01T12:07:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\"},\"wordCount\":675,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\",\"keywords\":[\"long sentences\",\"predictors\",\"short sentences\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sentence length\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\",\"name\":\"Why use short sentences in writing?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-03T15:49:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-01T12:07:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png\",\"width\":450,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability. Image by IMG Stock Studio\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Writing and editing\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/category\/writing-and-editing\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Concise Writing\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/category\/writing-and-editing\/concise-writing-tips\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Sentence length\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/category\/writing-and-editing\/concise-writing-tips\/sentence-length\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Why use short sentences in writing?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/\",\"name\":\"Wylie Communications, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Writing workshops, communication consulting and writing services\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wylie Communications Inc.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wylie_new_logo-300.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wylie_new_logo-300.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Wylie Communications Inc.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WylieCommunications\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AnnWylie\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wyliecomm\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/wylie-communications-inc-\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/wyliecomminc\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85f5e705a38c31f4a0c59c982a66ce5e\",\"name\":\"Ann Wylie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/160508f95c61ef464936ccf823a20963?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/160508f95c61ef464936ccf823a20963?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ann Wylie\"},\"description\":\"Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.wylie.33\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AnnWylie\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why use short sentences in writing?","description":"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why use short sentences in writing?","og_description":"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/","og_site_name":"Wylie Communications, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WylieCommunications","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.wylie.33","article_published_time":"2023-06-03T15:49:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-01T12:07:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-fb.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ann Wylie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Why use short sentences in writing?","twitter_description":"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences-twitter.png","twitter_creator":"@AnnWylie","twitter_site":"@AnnWylie","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ann Wylie","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/"},"author":{"name":"Ann Wylie","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85f5e705a38c31f4a0c59c982a66ce5e"},"headline":"Why use short sentences in writing?","datePublished":"2023-06-03T15:49:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-01T12:07:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/"},"wordCount":675,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png","keywords":["long sentences","predictors","short sentences"],"articleSection":["Sentence length"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/","name":"Why use short sentences in writing?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png","datePublished":"2023-06-03T15:49:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-01T12:07:41+00:00","description":"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png","width":450,"height":300,"caption":"Why short sentences? Sentence length is one of the Top 2 predictors of readability. Image by IMG Stock Studio"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Writing and editing","item":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/category\/writing-and-editing\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Concise Writing","item":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/category\/writing-and-editing\/concise-writing-tips\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sentence length","item":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/category\/writing-and-editing\/concise-writing-tips\/sentence-length\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Why use short sentences in writing?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/","name":"Wylie Communications, Inc.","description":"Writing workshops, communication consulting and writing services","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#organization","name":"Wylie Communications Inc.","url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wylie_new_logo-300.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wylie_new_logo-300.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Wylie Communications Inc."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WylieCommunications","https:\/\/x.com\/AnnWylie","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wyliecomm\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/wylie-communications-inc-","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/wyliecomminc\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85f5e705a38c31f4a0c59c982a66ce5e","name":"Ann Wylie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/160508f95c61ef464936ccf823a20963?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/160508f95c61ef464936ccf823a20963?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ann Wylie"},"description":"Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.wylie.33","https:\/\/x.com\/AnnWylie"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/why-use-short-sentences.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4rlSw-7QP","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30183"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}