I am a teacher, but I am also a broadcast journalist.  I understand the importance of catchy headlines, and writing with punch.  Being able to grab and keep the audience’s attention was a matter of life and death in my career as a journalist.  The same is true for any other writing – including my students’.  Flesch and Lass ‘s article shows
teachers and writers how to make their own work stronger.

Keep is Simple, Stupid is a catch-phrase I know as a journalist, and it sums up the points Flesch and Lass make.  Be brief: don’t overload your audience with unimportant details, or words.  Use active verbs: create a sense of immediacy, and urgency; and choose words your audience knows, but desensitized or bored with.  Wind up with a bang: save the best for last – it will make your sentences, paragraphs, and entire piece stronger; it will keep the reader reading; and it will help the reader remember your main point.  And arrange your words and sentences effectively: vary the length of sentences, repeat key words or sentence styles, and use a scattered dash (–) to
underline a key point.  All of these things can create a flow to your writing.  They can push the reader along, all the while building to a memorable climax.

Adding punch to your writing is a matter of playing with words.  You can give your students a list of rules, such as those discussed by Flesch and Lass.  But you will need to keep your students working at it.  Give them feedback on their writing.  Help them look for fewer and better words to say what they want to say.  Help them to edit and
revise their work, looking for sentences or paragraphs to sharpen, and points to rearrange for more impact.  Most of all, remind students that writing is an art form.  The best art conveys a message, and is appealing to view.  Help students take pride in the pictures their words paint.