How many words should comprise the average sentence length?

Answer 1

There is no rule for that, although some people try to make up rules in this regard all the time. The best guideline is to mix it up. If you use only short sentences, your writing will sound choppy. If you find that you have a problem with all really short sentences, try adding detail, or making more complex constructions. If they are all long, start breaking some of them up. Either way, though, don't start counting words. The point of writing is to *communicate,* and that needs to remain the main goal. Use whatever sentence length that helps you communicate effectively with your chosen audience.

Answer 2

In English, this is difficult to answer with a number. English sentences can be as short as two words (the subject and predicate "I am" is an example of this.), or indefinitely long if punctuated properly. English sentences can reach infinite lengths with the proper use of conjunctions and modifiers or modifier clauses ("The man's, aunt's, mother's, brothers, father's, cousin's, second son's, next-door-neighbor's, dog's..." is an example of this sort of modification).

The fine people at Guiness World Records recognize the longest sentence in Faulkner's Absolom, Absolom!, at 1,288 words. Molly Bloom's soliloquy in Joyce's Ulysses is 4,391 words, however. And, the 2001 Jonathan Coe novel The Rotters' Club includes a 13,955 word sentence.

It seems, though, that the US Army prefers to keep the word limit in formal documents and forms to an average of fifteen words, perhaps in the interest of bureaucratic efficiency.

Addendum:The length should vary in creative writing to provide pacing. A short sentence of less than 5 words is probably not providing enough information. A sentence more than 20 words long can cause the reader to lose track of the basic meaning or thrust of the sentence. Generally, the average sentence between 7 and 15 words should express a single thought, and up to 20 or 25 words where there are multiple independent clauses.

One survey found that the "average" length was 14.3 words, but the number of shorter sentences is probably higher, considering that some sentences can easily run 40 words or more.