Sentence length checker
Paste your writing to see every sentence as a bar sized by its word count. Runs of sentences that are all about the same length are highlighted, so you can see where the rhythm goes flat.
A free tool from Plainhand. Your text never leaves your browser.
What the checker shows
Each bar is one sentence, and its length is the sentence’s word count. Above the bars you’ll see how many sentences you wrote, their average length, and how much they vary. The variation is the standard deviation: the smaller it is, the more alike your sentences are. Tap a bar to read the whole sentence.
A run is highlighted when four or more sentences in a row are each 20 words or fewer and all within 15 percent of the run’s average length. The full Plainhand editor uses the same rule, so the two always agree.
Why same-length sentences sound flat
Readers hear rhythm even when they read silently. When every sentence is the same size, the stress falls in the same place again and again, and the prose starts to drone. A short sentence after a long one lands harder. A long one after a string of short ones lets the reader breathe.
Before
The meeting ran long. Nobody had read the report. The manager asked for questions. The room stayed quiet.
After
The meeting ran long, mostly because nobody had read the report, and when the manager finally asked for questions the room went quiet. Nobody moved.
How to fix a flat run
- Combine two sentences. Join a pair with a clause so one sentence carries more of the load.
- Cut one short. A three- or four-word sentence after a longer one gives the paragraph a clear beat.
- Move the weight. Put the detail that matters most in the sentence you want readers to slow down for.
- Keep deliberate runs. A string of short, even sentences can build tension. If you meant it, leave it.
Check everything at once. The full Plainhand editor highlights sentence length alongside filter words, stock phrases, repeated openers and more, with a short note on each. Its checks are free and run in your browser.
Open the full editor