Friday 23 August 2013

What's the best sentence length?



When students read academic texts and journals they often find them difficult to understand. This is because academic style frequently uses very long sentences (and paragraphs). But students should not attempt to copy this style in their own writing!

Short sentences are easier to read and write:

Electric cars are less polluting than cars that burn petrol or diesel. However, their popularity is limited by the high cost of batteries and their limited range. Consequently sales of electric cars have remained low.

But too many short sentences can be boring to read. Use conjunctions to link some together:

Although electric cars are less polluting than cars that burn petrol or diesel, their popularity is limited by the high cost of batteries and their limited range. Consequently sales of electric cars have remained low.

By varying the sentence length in this way, the text becomes more interesting. However, students are advised not to use too many conjunctions in one sentence, as multiple clauses can make a sentence too complex to understand. If in doubt - keep it simple!