3. Keep It Simple

Notice how the paring-down process we used in the example above helped simplify what we were trying to say. Towards the end it becomes clear that the text contains a number of distinct messages:

‘Buy my book.’

‘Become a better writer.’

‘And make more money.’

Breaking down a text into simple messages like this is another way of improving the readability and power of your copy. Once again, remember that you are not out to wow readers with your literary prowess, but to give them an unequivocal motive to take some form of action. Highlight each point clearly and concisely, so the reader is left in no doubt about what you are saying.

Presenting your argument one point at a time can be important in helping you work out the structure of your text. If you are writing a feature, for example, it is worth setting out all the points in the argument you want to make and then writing a paragraph on each; as you go along you will be able to see where it would make sense to include quotes, statistics and so on.

The ‘keep it simple’ rule applies to different types of project in the same way as sentence length. Keep things very simple in texts for electronic, broadcast and tabloid media, advertising and direct mail. If you are in any doubt as to how you should simplify a complicated argument, a good tip is to pick up a tabloid newspaper and see how they have treated similar subjects.

Finally, presenting your argument in simple terms is useful in helping you work out the order of your messages – and, crucially, what should be the first thing you can say that will capture the reader’s attention.

The Fog Index

If you are worried about the readability of your copy, you can use a measure called the Fog Index to assess whether you need to simplify it. The Fog Index quantifies how complicated a text is in terms of the number of years of schooling required to understand it. This is how you use it:

• Work out the average number of words per sentence in your text. You can do this by dividing the number of words by the number of sentences in a couple of paragraphs. Independent clauses (such as ‘The time for words is over; now, action is needed’) count as separate sentences.
• Count up the number of words in the same section of text that have three syllables or more, ignoring proper names.
• Add the two figures and then multiply the sum by 0.4 to get your Fog Index.

The Fog Index of the bullet points above works out at about ten, which is more or less the same as text in Time, Newsweek or the Wall Street Journal. Such a score is alright for educated audiences (like the anticipated readership of this book), but far too high for mass-market copy. Tabloid newspapers (and, interestingly, great works like the Bible and Shakespeare’s plays) tend to have Fog Indexes of almost half that level. And if your copy has a Fog Index of more than about 12, it is probably too complicated for most people to read easily.

If you use a word processor to produce copy, it will probably have other statistics that can help you gauge readability. Microsoft Word, for example, has two readability indices (which can be switched on via the ‘Options’ panel under ‘Tools’):

• Flesch Reading Ease, which ranges from zero to 100, with higher numbers indicating greater readability. Average texts should score between 60 and 70.
• Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, which indicates readability in terms of US grade-school levels; anything above eighth grade would be considered of below-average readability.