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NFPW 2002 Highlights
Cut through the Clutter

Writers can keep readers hooked with streamlined sentences, fast-paced paragraphs and a trick called “makin’ bacon,” says Ann Wylie.

Readers give up when they see jargon, long sentences and other obstacles to comprehension. The longest paragraph comfortable to most readers is 42 words and the longest lead sentence is 25 words.

Readers also appreciate short words, she said, noting that the Gettysburg Address is 266 words, of which 168 are one syllable. If you use a long word, it should be surrounded by short words.

As for jargon, she said, don’t just help the reader by defining it. Get rid of it altogether by translating it. In one true example from Edward T. Thompson’s “How to Write Clearly,” a scientist wrote, “The biota exhibited a 100 percent mortality response.” In other words, everything died.

One of Wylie’s tips — “makin’ bacon” — is a nickname for self-editing in which writers trim excess words from sentences and excess sentences from paragraphs. Watching paragraphs shrink is like watching bacon cook, she said.

– Janell Cole