Writing sentences

Being able to write good sentences immediately improves the quality of your writing. Being able to use different types of sentences will make your writing even better.

This learning area includes:

  • understanding clauses
  • understanding sentences
  • writing simple sentences
  • writing compound sentences
  • writing complex sentences
  • using sentence variety
  • getting the grammar right
  • getting the punctuation right
  • summary.

What are clauses?

Clauses are the building blocks of sentences. There are two main types of clauses: independent and dependent clauses.

An independent clause has at least one subject and one verb and is a complete idea. Here are examples:

the printer isn’t working

the meeting began at 11.10am

A dependent clause has a subject and verb but is an incomplete idea. It starts with words like ‘because’, ‘after’ and ‘that’ and needs an independent clause to be a sentence. Here are examples:

because the ink has finished

after everyone had arrived

What is a sentence?

A sentence must:

  • have at least one subject
  • have at least one verb
  • express at least one complete idea.

Another way of saying this is that a sentence must have at least one independent clause.

Note that a dependent clause alone is not a sentence.

A sentence must also:

  • start with a capital letter
  • end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

Writing simple sentences

A simple sentence is one independent clause. Here are some examples:

I am writing about your poor service.

Staff should lock the windows at the end of the day.

Summer classes begin in December.

Simple sentences don’t have to be basic or boring. This is also a simple sentence.

The volunteers will meet their team leaders at the Community Centre Hall at 7.00am to prepare for the annual festival.

Learning to write effective and correct simple sentences is important because all types of sentences are built with at least one independent clause.

Writing compound sentences

A compound sentence is two simple sentences joined with a coordinator, eg ‘The student was unhappy, so she wrote a letter of complaint.’ There are seven coordinators, which you can remember with the phrase FAN BOYS––for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

In the examples below the coordinators are underlined.

The class was cancelled, for there were not enough students.

The centre gets funding from the government, and it raises money itself.

The employee didn’t return my call, nor did he reply to my email.

The food was good, but the customer service was poor.

We’ll do a leaflet, or we’ll make a poster.

Last year’s end of year party was a success, yet there isn’t one this year.

The student was unhappy, so she wrote a letter of complaint.

Writing complex sentences

A complex sentence is an independent clause and a dependent clause. Remember, dependent clauses start with subordinators, ie words like ‘because’ and ‘that’. Here are some examples of complex sentences. The subordinators are underlined and the dependent clauses are in italics.

The printer isn’t working because the ink has run out.

The brochure that we sent out last week has a spelling error in it.

People who wish to volunteer for the local festival can register online.

Company policy states that all employees should be treated equally.

Using sentence variety

The aim of any text you write is to communicate effectively. Always think about your audience and your purposewhen selecting your text type, when writing your sentences, even when choosing your words.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking long complicated sentences are the best sentences. Good instructions, for example, contain short, clear sentences. Think about their audience and purpose. Maybe in a formal report you might use more complex sentences. But then, for a leaflet or a poster, you might use shorter, simple sentences to communicate your ideas.

However, in some cases lots of short sentences can make your writing seem ‘jumpy’ and simple. Also, lots of short sentences might not create the right impression if you are writing a report, for example.

Getting the grammar right

Imagine going to all the trouble to select the right text type for your purpose and audience, then gathering your information and applying the best format and layout, but then your sentences are confusing or hard to read because they contain errors! All your good work comes apart.

Becoming a better writer means improving every aspect of your writing. This includes your grammar. If you find you are making grammar errors, get someone to help you identify your five main errors. Work on those and your writing will quickly improve.

Let’s look at a few common grammar mistakes that you could work on getting right in your own writing.

1. Make sure your subject and the verb agree.

The bag of books that I left at the counter were stolen. х

The bag of books that I left at the counter was stolen. √

(The main noun is ‘bag’, which is singular, so the verb is singular.)

2. Make sure you use singular or plural nouns correctly.

These student achieved good result in the exam. х

These students achieved good results in the exam. √

3. Check you have used articles correctly.

When customers have complaint they can complete feedback form. Х

When customers have a complaint they can complete a feedback form. √

4. Check you have used the right form of the word

Words have different forms. For instance, they can be nouns, verbs, adverbs or adjectives.

Many of our customers choice one of our many package deals. Х

Many of our customers choose one of our many package deals. √

5. Check you have used the correct tense

The festival starts at 9.00am and finished at 7.00pm. Х

The festival starts at 9.00am and finishes at 7.00pm. √

6. Check your sentences have a subject and a verb and express a complete idea.

Paid the account last week. Х (No subject)

The annual festival to raise money for charity. Х (No verb)

At the annual end-of-year party held at the office. Х (Missing information)

If you need practise in any of these grammar points, look in the Find out more section for links to additional resources.

Getting the punctuation right

Punctuation refers to marks such as full stops, commas, and question marks which are used to make your writing clear. You also need to use capital letters whenever necessary. Look at this example.

The course was advertised in the paper for $850 we can do an extra subject.

What does this mean? It could mean:

The course was advertised in the paper for $850. We can do an extra subject.

Or it could mean:

The course was advertised in the paper. For $850 we can do an extra subject.

Summary

In this learning area we learned that sentences need to have correct structure and use correct grammar and punctuation. We also learned that it is good to use a variety of sentence types––simple, compound, and complex.

Producing effective texts means getting every level of your writing correct, from the format and layout down to the sentences and words.

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© TAFE NSW, 2007