Memo 3-2

Writing Statistics

Use the table below to record your writing statistics. Copy and paste this table at the bottom of your memo and include the stats for each item.

Total # Words (350-400)	Number of Sentences	Avg. # Words/Sentence	Number of Commas

How to Compute Writing Stats:

Step 1 - Compute total word count: Open your memo. The bottom left-hand corner of Word shows the total word count. Highlight the opening, agenda, body and closing. Review the left-hand corner again. It will now show the amount of words highlighted. This total includes the headings. Do not include your memo headings in the total word count. Manually count the words in the headers and subtract them from the word count. This is your Total # of Words. The total word count must be between 350 and 400 words. Step 2 – Determine total number of sentences: Click "Find" on the Home toolbar or use Ctrl + F to open the Navigation pane in Word. Type a period in the search box. A number will appear directly below the search box. The number represents how many periods are in the document. Subtract any periods used for other reasons other than to end a sentence. This is the number of sentences.

Step 3 – Determine average number of words/sentence: Divide the number of words (from step 1) by the total number of sentences (from step 2); for example, if you have 380 words/24 sentences = 15.8 average number of words/sentence. Your average sentence length should be less than 20 . See the note below for details.

NOTE - IMPORTANT: If your average sentence length is not under 20 words, you should review your document. Look for ways to improve the conciseness of your sentences. The goal for any business is writing an average of 15 words/sentence. Research also shows that a 28-word sentence has a comprehension rate of 50 percent! An 8-word sentence has a comprehension rate of 100 percent! This doesn't mean you have to have 8-word sentences, but it does demonstrate the significant role conciseness plays in effective communication. Research shows that the longer the sentence, the more likely there will be errors in grammar, punctuation, and clarity. It will benefit you and your audience if you use concise sentences.

Step 4 – Determine total number of commas: Replace the period in the Navigation pane with a comma. A number will appear directly below the search box. Subtract for any commas not used within sentences, like in the date line.