Length and complexity of sentences

 

The recommended maximum length of a sentence is 20 words. Generally, if a sentence is longer than 15 words it is poorly constructed and/or has unncessary words.
Example 1
BAD

Here is an example of a long sentence written by a student. It has 24 words.

"However, putting that aside, Marist Swimming Club has several strategies that the club has adopted to promote itself better amd in a broader context." (24 words)
BETTER

Removing uncessary words the sentence becomes.

"However, Marist Swimming Club has adopted several strategies to promote itself better." (12 words)
It is highly likely that a sentence of 20 words can be easily broken into two sentences and this will improve the readability of the text.
Example 2
BAD

Here is an example of a long sentence written by a student. It has 53 words.

"Government funding is one of the major sources of income that keep the sport and recreation industry alive other than the funds that the industry receives from the government would have to rely so much on sponsors for money that the small business and local clubs and organisation would slowly just fade away."
BETTER

Here the sentence has been restructured into two sentences and some unnecessary words taken away. Together these two sentences have 28 words.

"Government funding and sponsorship are major sources of income for sport and recreation organisations. Income from these two sources helps to keep clubs and organisations from fading away."