Effective communication
Doesn't everyone? Short sentences? Is this topic something that could possibly interest anyone but a writer? Whether they are aware of it or not everyone who reads the printed word IS interested in the issue of short sentences. Why? Simply because short sentences are easier to read. The easier a block of text is to read the more likely the reader is to start and above all finish it. The easier the read, the more enjoyable the experience. Moreover, after reading a block of text with relatively short sentences the reader will retain much more of the information than if the sentences were hard to read. The Dictum The first person I ever heard expressing praise for short sentences was Canadian journalist and writer Gordon Sinclair (pronounced Sink-ler). I heard his emphatic proclamation on this subject during one of his frequent radio opinion pieces broadcast during the 1960s. Any sentence, was the gist of his point, over 10 words in length was just a waste of ink. Ten words should be ...