Writing Style – Business Writing Guidelines

I thought I would start offer some ideas on how you can ensure your writing style meets the needs of today’s business readers.

Please note that these tips are not hard and fast rules but only guidelines. They come from my years of experience in teaching business writing and from my research into the reading habits of business people.

Your chances of writing clearly and concisely will improve if you keep these numbers in mind:

• The average number of words per sentence = 18
• The average number of pieces of punctuation in a sentence before a reader jumps to the next sentence = 4 (A period counts as 1.)
• The average number of lines per body paragraph in a print document = 8
• The average number of lines per body paragraph in a screen document = 5
• The average number of lines per introductory paragraph in a print document = 3-4
• The average number of lines per introductory paragraph in a screen document = 2-3
• The average number of ideas a person can hold in their heads = 7 (This is useful information when writing bulleted or numbered lists and when planning sections in a report.)
• The appropriate grade level for business writing when using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level on your computer = 12