What’s the character count of your average word?
Why reduce word length? |
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What is word length, and why should you care? Short words No. 1 predictor of readability Small wonder: Long words get shared less often, suck the color from your piece — even make you sound like a liar. Why not choose short words? |
What’s the best word length? |
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What’s the best length of a word online? The New York Times averages 4.9 characters Short and sweet: Why write employment when you can write jobs? Save your readers processing time by choosing short words. |
How to reduce word length |
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How to hit the best word length for blog posts, other content Choose Anglo-Saxon words, write to ‘you’ & more Words have power, and short words are more powerful than long ones: So stop stressing over the number of words you should hit in your blog post or other content, and start focusing on the number of characters in your words. |
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Write like Churchill — in one-syllable words ‘Short words are best, and old words when short are the best of all’ Want to improve reading ease? Take a tip from Winston Churchill: Use mostly one-syllable words. |
Choose the right words |
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They suck the energy out of your copy Reverbify noun phrases: Noun phrases muddy your words, lengthen your phrases and bore your readers. Turn anemic noun phrases into strong verbs. |
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Don’t commit verbicide: Choose verbs, not nouns Action words streamline syllables Stop putting your copy through the de-verb-orizer: Verbs streamline syllables and make copy easier to read. |
More on the right word length for readability |
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Resources on average word length Websites, books & other tools Decrease word length and increase understanding with these tools |
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What writers and others say “Never use a big word when a diminutive phrase can be utilized.” — Anonymous |
Get more tips on word length tips on RevvingUpReadership.com