From this text you will learn:
what affects the readability of the content (and what it is anyway),
what inconspicuous "disturbers" appear in functional texts and how to avoid them,
what to do to make content more enjoyable to read.
What influences the readability of texts?
… and what is readability anyway? If kuwait telegram phone number list you approach it scientifically, it’s worth reminding yourself of the readability /content haziness index. In short, the point is that the more complicated the language you use, the more you demand from your reader.
When calculating the readability index, the number of syllables in a word and words in a sentence play a key role. The more complicated the words and sentences, the higher the level of difficulty. And this translates into poorer readability of the content.
It is worth making a small caveat here, however.
Difficult words for the "ordinary" reader who is a layman in a given topic can indeed be a hindrance. But what if you are writing a text intended for specialists? Then their use usually indicates the author's good understanding of the subject matter . Therefore, when choosing vocabulary, consider first and foremost the target audience - needs, requirements and the degree of "immersion" in the issues discussed.
It is worth noting that other factors related to the language of the content also affect readability . These include:
the overall level of "intricacy" of sentences – their length and complexity,
word order (the arrangement of words in a sentence) and their syntax,
graphic organization of the text.
All of these elements can lower the value of your content for the reader. As a result, they will simply stop reading, and the time you spent writing the article will be wasted.
Common writing mistakes you should avoid are…
1. Inversion
Look at these two sentences:
“These types of accessories can be mounted both vertically and horizontally.”
"These types of accessories can be mounted both vertically and horizontally"
The difference, it may seem, is small. After all, only the verb order changes. The problem is that this inversion – especially when it appears in every other sentence of the text – makes reading much more difficult. Therefore, in everyday texts, avoid it like the plague. And if you want to play with syntax, use inversion when writing something literary.
2. Overuse of possessive pronouns
And again look at the example:
"In our Pabianice car wash we offer our clients a wide range of services. Our employees perform them with attention to every detail..."
Out of 20 words, three are the same possessive pronoun in different forms. An extreme example? Not necessarily. This error appears quite often in the texts I read. It is the type of repetition that affects me more or less like the overuse of the verb "to possess" and, as a reader, discourages me from following the text any further.
On a side note, the combination "our Pabianice company" - probably created with SEO in mind - looks very unnatural. It is therefore worth avoiding such attempts at "optimization", because you can only harm yourself.
I also find unnecessary phrases like " We offer our clients..." " We offer our clients...". It's obvious that it's not someone else's, so why needlessly expand the sentences?
A more correct version of the quoted sentence might be:
"We offer our clients a wide range of services. Our employees perform them with attention to every detail."
Instantly better!
3. Overuse of participles
Using participles is not, in principle, a mistake. Participle forms of verbs are useful to avoid syntactic repetitions and to shorten sentences. But when there are too many of them, the text also loses its readability, which is one of the reasons why they can seem quite complicated to read. For this reason, it is sometimes worth replacing them with, for example, a verb. How? Take a look at this fragment of the product description:
“The stove is characterized by high efficiency, which allows for lower heating costs.”
How can you make a sentence like this more readable? For example:
“The stove is characterized by high efficiency, which allows for reducing heating costs.”
The personal form of the verb is more "friendly" to read and makes the content more dynamic. This makes the sentence seem shorter and easier to read.
4. Syntactic repetitions
"We offer accommodation in rooms that have been designed in a fashionable style that our guests appreciate."
Repeating the same syntactic structure two or three times in one sentence disrupts its readability and looks awkward. This is exactly the case where you can use a participle.
“ We offer accommodation in rooms that have been designed in a fashionable style appreciated by our guests.”
Shorter, smarter and simpler – as it should be.
5. Calculations that go on forever
"Our company offers a wide range of products, including: screws, nuts, various types of gaskets, hand tools such as hammers and wrenches, power tools, painting and plastering accessories, cables, fuses..."
If the texts are written for an online store or a distributor of a large number of products, it is not difficult to find a sentence with a long list. The problem is that if it goes on for 2-3 or more lines, the reader will get lost very quickly. As a result, they will either not read to the end or will not even realize how wide a range of products awaits them. How to prevent such situations? The solution is simple. Replace the "wall of text" with a list using bullet points. You will gain twice.
