To pass your essay, your content must make sense to the reader and you as well. How do you do this? By writing your sentences perfectly. By writing meaningful sentences, both short and long-word sentences.
But how many sentences are in an essay? As many as you prefer or as many as they exhaustively answer or discuss your essay topic. Writing your essay can, at times, be a challenge.
Several sentences make a paragraph. How will you present your ideas in several sentences to have a document that is meaningful and ready to be graded?
In this article, we look at how many sentences are in an essay and paragraphs and paragraphing.
How many Sentences are in an Essay?
There is no correct answer to this question. It’s just as asking, “How long is a string.” This is because it is not really possible to dictate how many they should be.
There is no universal number of sentences in an essay because there exists no standard rule that governs how many sentences you should write. What dictates the length of your work is the number of words or pages given by your tutor.
However, the only standard rule is ensuring your piece has an inviting introduction: an exhaustive body and a summarizing conclusion.
How it Works in Essay Writing
A group of words makes a sentence. Several sentences make a paragraph. Ultimately, several paragraphs make an essay. The number of paragraphs in an essay is then determined by the length of the overall work from the introduction to the conclusion.
What do you think is the main difference between a sentence, a paragraph, and an essay?
The most obvious answer would be, each varies in terms of its length.
Even though this may be true, can you view it from a different perspective?
View the three as boxes—a sentence being a small box. Then the paragraph is a bigger box; lastly, the essay is the biggest of the others.
This means a sentence represents a single idea. In the same manner, a paragraph describes several thoughts on the same topic. Lastly, an essay is a discussion of several ideas on one topic.
How many Words should be in a Sentence?
To start with, a sentence, no matter its number of words, should have a clear meaning on its own.
A sentence can have up to 20 words. We do not have one-word sentences unless it’s an imperative meaning; it’s a warning. For example:
- Run!
- Don’t!
- Shoot!
A 20 words or less sentence is easy to understand as it is clear and not intimidating.
According to American Press Institute study (API), readers understand better when the sentences are shorter. Although longer sentences have the advantage of flow, they require more focus from your reader. Long sentences work best when the reader’s interest is aroused.
To determine how many sentences are in an essay, note the following about the number of words in a single sentence:
- There is a 100 percent understanding of information when sentences are eight words or fewer.
- Your readers will have a 90 percent information understanding when your sentences average 14 words.
- Lastly, readers grasp only 10 percent of the information when sentences have an average of 43 words!
How many Sentences in a Paragraph
Paragraphs organize your writing. Usually, a paragraph outlines a single thought.
For your paragraph to have meaning, start with a topic sentence. Further, add supporting sentences. To strengthen the supporting sentences, add more details by using examples.
How many sentences are enough, or how many sentences are too many in a particular paragraph?
Well, any length is okay—however, most advocate for more than five sentences in academic papers.
The rule to govern your writing should be your teacher’s instructions and guidelines.
How Many Words in a Paragraph
There is no specified number of words in a paragraph because the length is dictated by many factors. The idea about the number of words should not supersede the meaning and information understanding of your essay.
However, an average sentence has 14-20 words. Therefore, with a paragraph having an average of 5-8 sentences, then it should have 70-160 words.
From our above explanation, we can try to deduce that a paragraph should not be too small or too large to fit a single argument or a point you are presenting.
Meaningful longer paragraphs in your essay depict you have a deeper understanding of your topic in discussion. However, shorter ones are more concise and easy to understand.
Tips when Writing Optimal Sentences
Each of your sentences in an essay should have a meaning and should communicate towards your essay topic.
In addition to determining how many sentences are in an essay, consider the following tips to write good sentences:
- Write in simple and plain English.
- Avoid using passive voice and general normalizations. Use strong verbs.
- Be concise.
- Use short sentences
- use transition words and semicolons when writing long sentences to link ideas
- Ensure your sentences are correctly punctuated
- Make sure your sentences have captivating ideas, and they inform your reader with logic.
- Incorporate both short and long sentences.
Besides your sentences being more straightforward, they should be persuasive enough. You observe this by minding your language choice, tone, and sentence structure. A good sentence presents an idea efficiently and establishes communication with your reader.
A good sentence has flow, paints a picture, and should summon a particular mood. This is where every character makes sense and why spaces are counted as characters because they contribute to the overall structure and meaning of the sentence.
