One of the most common obstacles for hobby writers is that of sentence construction. If your sentences are too short, your information will likely not be conveyed correctly, but if you keep going and going, your reader will lose interest very quickly. See what I mean? That last sentence was an example of a sentence that was too long.

How to tell if your sentences are too long

If your reader can make and drink a cup of tea in the time it takes to write a sentence, that should be a clue. Seriously, the best way to test the length of your sentences is to read them out loud. The rule is that if you need to stop to take a breath, then the sentence should end there.

Long sentences = intelligence?

Some people think that using very long sentences and complicated words means that your reader will see you as smart. This is not true. All it’s going to accomplish is make your work unreadable, or at least extremely boring.

How to break your sentences into manageable parts

If you feel the need to pepper your sentences with conjunctive words, this could be the root of your problems. Conjunctive words are ink words like ‘and’ ‘although’ ‘because’ and ‘however’. These words can often be replaced with full periods, thus eliminating your problem.

The same effect can also be achieved by readjusting the construction of your sentences. This can be done by trying to use fewer words to convey your meaning or by rearranging existing words. Sometimes you may find that what you are trying to say works better as two separate sentences.

Another way to improve the quality of your sentences is to try to remove any unnecessary descriptions. For example, ‘she walked on the frozen ice’ should become ‘she walked on the ice’. Excessive description is boring and adds no conceivable value to your work.

Furthermore, awards must only contain a succinct concept, opinion or thought. If you have too many things in one sentence, you may need to start a new one. Try to think about it from your reader’s point of view and don’t overcomplicate things.

Finally, it is not always necessary to start a new award. One way to fix sentences that seem too long is to apply some form of punctuation, such as commas or semicolons. Several overfactors are needed to determine what is needed and are for another tutorial.