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Best Sentence Length For Readability | Health And Medical Blog Writing

Wondering if the sentences and paragraphs in the blog or article you’ve written are too long? 


90% of the time, the answer is yes. In an era of information overload, our brains crave short and concise sentences. Short sentences feel helpful. Like you’re doing your readers a favour. They also position you as an expert: no waffling needed to get the point across.


Plus, two-thirds of your readers will skim your article anyway. You’re just saving them the hassle.


how long should sentence be in blogs articles

Having written health and medical content for over eight years, I know it can be tricky. Some medical concepts need a lot of explanation to be easily understood. You may need several paragraphs to best position the reader for your call to action to help them book a service or purchase a product. Even in these cases, keeping your sentences short is still important. Why?


  • Studies show that when people can process information easily, they find it more credible and enjoyable.

  • Short sentences also facilitate “chunking”. This automatic process is where you group small pieces of information together. This makes information easier to remember, increasing the likelihood of your readers remembering your clinic, services, or products.


Key takeaway: less is more. You can still take several paragraphs to explain concepts or share information. But keep your sentences within those paragraphs as short as possible.



What Is The Best Sentence Length For Blogs And Articles?


Let’s look at the studies. It’s been found that in sentences with 14 words, readers understand more than 90% of what they read. Increase that to 43 words? Comprehension plummets to under 10%. Ideally, you don’t want to exceed 20 words in a single sentence.


Once again: the shorted, the better.


Let’s put sentence length to the reading test. I’m going to ask ChatGPT to give me an example of a paragraph with sentences that are too long, and then revise it with shorter sentences of a good length. Let’s see what we get:



This sentence is too long:

"Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) should regularly monitor their lung function through spirometry, take medications as prescribed by their healthcare provider, avoid triggers like smoking and environmental pollutants, engage in pulmonary rehabilitation exercises to strengthen their breathing muscles, and make dietary changes to maintain a healthy weight, as all of these factors can contribute to better management of the condition and improved quality of life."



This is better:

"Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) should regularly monitor their lung function using spirometry. They need to take medications as prescribed by their healthcare provider and avoid triggers like smoking and environmental pollutants. Pulmonary rehabilitation exercises can help strengthen breathing muscles. Dietary changes are also important to maintain a healthy weight. These steps together contribute to better COPD management and improved quality of life."



And this is my version:

Spirometry checks how much air you can breathe in and out, and at what speed. Completing spirometry tests several times a year helps you get on top of any changes quickly. This is especially important if you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Steer clear of pollutants and known triggers like smoking. Be punctual with your medication and pulmonary rehabilitation exercises. Your actions go a long way in preventing COPD from stopping you doing the things you love. 



Yes - technically that last sentence was on the longer side at 17 words. But. As with all content, it’s always important to balance the natural tone of your article well. That can mean mixing shorter and average sentence lengths to avoid a robotic tone. The same is true of SEO (search engine optimisation). You want to write to support being found on Google while prioritising the natural flow for your readers.



SEO Tips for Writing Clear and Concise Medical Blogs


From an SEO perspective, sentence length can directly impact your website’s performance. Search engines do rank content based on factors such as readability. Articles with shorter, clearer sentences mean more time spent on a page and lower bounce rates. These are both metrics that Google considers when determining how helpful your content is.


With this said, search engines consider so many factors. If you’re producing credible original content on a daily basis, you’ll be fine. Just don’t go chasing those “hacks” like keyword stuffing - it doesn’t end well and is being cracked down on as we speak. Genuine, human content over time always wins - even if we get help from some nifty software and tools.


Speaking of tools, if you struggle with sentence and paragraph length, free tools like Yoast SEO can help.


Ideal Sentence Length For Health Blog: Tips


For those that have skimmed right down to the end looking for the cliff notes:


  • The shorter, the better. 

  • No more than 20 words per sentence. 

  • Shorter sentences are even more appreciated when dealing with unfamiliar medical explanations.

  • Mixing shorter sentences with ones of average length creates a natural flow and avoids a robotic tone. 

  • Free tools like Yoast SEO can flag long sentences for you.



Need help writing your medical articles or editing your team's health blogs? We’ve got you. Send us an email on hello@wordprescription.com

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