SAMPLE: 117 words
"Following closely on the tail of Hurricane Gustav
, which wrecked havoc on the island nation of Cuba less than two weeks ago, Hurricane Ike slammed into the coasts of Texas and Louisiana early this morning. With millions without power and massive flooding throughout the Houston area, the storm system, which is more than 200 miles wide, is continuing across the Gulf Coast and is supposed to move into Arkansas by nightfall. Early reports from authorities are saying that Hurricane Ike will be the most devastating storm in 25 years since Hurricane Alicia hit the Gulf Coast in 1983. So far the estimated damages and loss of life is unknown, but both are expected to be high."
Average number of words per sentence: 26
Number of "hard words": 6
26+6=32(0.4)=12.8
Okay maybe I'll take back that last post...I guess I'm a bit too wordy, eh? I love big, beautiful words. I also love to learn new words and I use my writing as way to increase my own vocabulary. But I suppose I could certainly write shorter sentences!
1 comment:
Loving big beautiful words is fine...just don't overdo it in a basic hard news story. Save it for analysis and features.
When it comes to sentence lengths, I vote for variety. Use short sentences for contrast and impact (or relief).
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