Readability and sentence structure — a practical guide.

Readability is not about simple vocabulary or short sentences. It is about clarity: does the reader understand what you mean with minimum mental effort? Here are the principles that genuinely improve readability.

One idea per sentence

Long sentences are not inherently bad. But sentences that try to express multiple unrelated ideas become difficult to follow. A useful heuristic: if removing a clause from a sentence does not change the main idea, it probably belongs in a separate sentence.

Prefer active over passive voice

Passive voice (“The report was written by the team”) is not wrong, but active voice (“The team wrote the report”) is usually clearer and more direct. AI-generated text tends towards passive constructions, especially in formal contexts. Switching to active voice usually improves readability and reduces word count simultaneously.

Concrete over abstract

Abstract nouns (“optimisation,” “facilitation,” “leveraging”) are vaguer and harder to visualise than concrete verbs and nouns (“improve,” “help,” “use”). AI writing tends towards abstract language because it sounds formal and sophisticated. Concrete language reads faster and is more memorable.

Illustrative rewrite

Abstract/passive:

“The facilitation of communication between teams was optimised through the implementation of asynchronous tools.”

Concrete/active:

“Async tools helped teams communicate without scheduling constant meetings.”

Paragraph length and visual breathing room

AI-generated content often produces long, dense paragraphs. Shorter paragraphs (3–5 sentences maximum) are easier to scan and read, especially on screens. Breaking up content with shorter paragraphs and occasional white space significantly improves perceived readability even before a word is changed.

The “so what?” check

After each paragraph, ask: “So what? Why does this matter to the reader?” If you cannot answer, either the paragraph needs a clearer point or it should be cut. AI output frequently includes paragraphs that fill space without advancing the reader’s understanding.