Sentence Fluency and Variety

CHOICE 9 ELA

Ms. Baisley

Sentence Fluency and Variety

In order to be able to make conscious decisions about your sentence structures, you need to first be aware of the different kind of sentences.

______Sentence (______clause)

·  Someone or ______(noun) does ______(verb).

o  Ex. We went to the mall.

______Sentence

·  Two ______sentences connected by a ______(and, so, but, or a semicolon)

o  Ex. We went to the mall and we shopped all day.

______Sentence

·  A ______sentence (independent clause) connected to one or more ______(dependent clause) by a ______(because, since, after, although, when).

o  Ex. Because we shopped all day, I didn’t have enough money to go out to eat afterwards.

OR

o  I didn’t have enough money to go out to eat afterwards because I shopped all day.

Compound Complex Sentence

·  Two ______sentences (independent clauses) connected to one or more ______(dependent clauses).

o  Ex. Because we went to the mall and shopped all day, I didn’t have enough money to go out to eat afterwards.

Watch Out!

______(dependent clauses)

·  A sentence that has ______subject or ______verb.

o  Ex. Her sleek, sporty, powerful, midnight black new car.

Crashed into the wall!

______-Ons

·  Usually sentences with ______conjunctions (and, because, but, so).

o  Ex. First, we decided to go to the mall but Kim was trying to save money, so instead we decided to go for coffee because I said I would buy so she wouldn’t have to worry.

______Splices

·  Two ______separated by a ______instead of a “.”, a conjunction, or a “;”.

o  Ex. Kim fell fast asleep, she was so tired

Types of Sentences

Declarative

·  ______a fact and provides ______.

o  Ex. When I was young, I lived in Chicago.

Interrogative

·  asks a ______and often begins with Who, What, Where, When, Why, How.

o  Ex. Where did you live as a child?

Imperative

·  gives an ______and is often only one or two words because the ______is implied.

o  Ex. Get out.

Exclamatory

·  expresses strong ______and ends in an ______mark. (just one!)

o  Ex. I can’t believe it!

Here are some ways that sentence variety can impact your writing when used purposefully:

·  A series of short, simple sentences can give your writing a childlike feel or can increase tension and suspense.

·  Plenty of complex sentences throughout (though not a whole bunch in a row) can give your writing an academic feel.

·  Be sure to switch up whether your dependent clause comes first or second in your complex sentences.

·  Following a series of complex and compound sentences with a simple sentence will make the simple sentence stand out.

·  Too many exclamatory sentences make your writing as monotonous as if you had none at all and my make your reader feel yelled at or you sound simple.

·  Too many interrogative sentences are uncomfortable for your reader. If you ask a question, do your best to answer it.

·  Imperatives are a great way to break up a string of longer sentences.

Watch Out!

Too many of any one kind of sentence in a row will bore your reader.

Here is a simple way to ensure sentence variety in your work. For each sentence of your paragraph, analyze it in the following way. If you discover you have many simple sentences in a row, consider combining some of them with an “and” to create a compound sentence. If you have many compound sentences in a row, consider splitting some into two simple sentences.

First Three Words of the Sentence / # of Words in the Sentence / Type of Sentence