Arkansas Foundations of Reading Test (FORT)

What are two principles of effective writing according to the provided text?

1. A story should only contain long sentences

2. A story should only contain short sentences

3. The average sentence length should be about 17 words, and a combination of long and short sentences can be used

4. Sentences should contain multiple ideas for depth

The correct answer is: The average sentence length should be about 17 words, and a combination of long and short sentences can be used

Effective writing generally follows the principle of using a combination of long and short sentences, with the average sentence length being around 17 words. Option A is incorrect because a story that only contains long sentences may become monotonous and lose the reader's interest. Option B is incorrect because a story that only contains short sentences may lack depth and complexity. Option D is incorrect because while sentences can contain multiple ideas, it is important to also vary the length of sentences in order to keep the writing engaging.