VARIETY IN SENTENCE STRUCTURE

2. VARIETY IN SENTENCE STRUCTURE Writing with Style

3. THREE PATTERNS The Loose Sentence The Periodic Sentence The Parallel Sentence

4. BASIC STATEMENTS

5. BASIC STATEMENTS Bells rang. Love is blind. The cat scratched Sally. John gave his mother flowers. The teacher considered him a good student.

6. THE LOOSE SENTENCE

7. THE LOOSE SENTENCE Basic statement: Bells rang. Loose sentence: Bells rang, filling the air with their clangor, startling pigeons into flight from every belfry, bringing people into the streets to hear the news.

8. THE LOOSE SENTENCE Basic statement: The teacher considered him a good student. Loose sentence: The teacher considered him a good student, steady if not inspired, willing if not eager, responsive to instruction and conscientious about his work.

9. THE PERIODIC SENTENCE

10. THE PERIODIC SENTENCE Basic statement: John gave his mother flowers. Periodic sentence: John, the tough one, the sullen kid who scoffed at any show of sentiment, gave his mother flowers.

11. THE PERIODIC SENTENCE Basic statement: The cat scratched Sally. Periodic sentence: Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the loveable cat scratched Sally.

12. THE PERIODIC (INTERRUPTIVE) Basic statement: Love is blind. Periodic sentence: Love, as everyone knows except those who happen to be afflicted with it, is blind.

13. THE COMBINATION

14. THE COMBINATION Basic statement: John was angry. Periodic: John was suddenly, violently angry. More periodic: John, usually the calmest of men, was suddenly, violently angry.

15. THE COMBINATION Periodic with Loose: John, usually the calmest of men, was suddenly, violently angry, so angry that he lost control completely. Try moving some of the detail up front: Usually the calmest of men, John was suddenly, violently angry, so angry that he lost control completely.

16. EXPANDING

17. EXPANDING the SUBJECT That boy, the one wearing glasses, is in my history class. This piecrust, tough as it is, tastes pretty good.

18. EXPANDING the SUBJECT The class (pause) read the assignment. The class, a mixture of juniors and seniors in advanced math, read the assignment. The class, usually noisy and inattentive, read the assignment. The class, with a subdued rustle of books and papers, read the assignment.

19. EXPANDING the VERB The class read, listlessly at first, and then with growing interest, the assignment. The class read, after trying unsuccessfully to divert the instructor, the assignment.

20. EXPANDING the OBJECT The class read the assignment, a full chapter. The class read the assignment, a full chapter, with a dismaying number of difficult-looking statistical tables. I saw Mr. Moody, the instructor. I saw Mr. Moody, the instructor, flat-nosed, beady-eyes, on guard every minute.

21. EXERCISES

22. EXERCISES The moon rose. The man was dead. She liked the song. They had a good time.

23. EXERCISES Mary left the room. Hate is based on fear. The man was dead. The circus was his life.

24. EXERCISES

25. EXERCISES The old man shuffled out of sight.

26. EXERCISES The girl walked across the playground. The boy talked about fishing.

27. EXERCISES He liked the car. John read the book. They listened to the lecture. He called the dog.

28. EXERCISES

29. PARALLEL STRUCTURE

30. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Which sentence sounds better? (1) King Alfred tried to make the law clear, precise, and equitable. (2) King Alfred tried to make clear laws that had precision and were equitable.

31. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Most people would argue that the first sentence somehow "sounds better" than the second. The first sentence uses parallel structure in its adjectives (pattern of adjective—adjective--adjective). The second doesn't. It has no pattern at all! (relative pronoun--verb--direct object--conjunction--verb--adjective)

32. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Grammatical/structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence. Arrangement of words/phrases/ sentences/paragraphs for equally developed importance and similarly phrased context.

33. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Faulty parallelism: She revels in chocolate, walking under the moonlight, and songs from the 1930s jazz period. Good parallelism: She revels in sweet chocolate eclairs, long moonlit walks, and classic jazz music. More good parallelism: She loves eating chocolate eclairs, taking moonlit walks, and singing classic jazz.

34. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Faulty parallelism: She revels in chocolate, walking under the moonlight, and songs from the 1930s jazz period. She revels in . . . chocolate, (object of preposition,) walking under the moonlight, (gerund--preposition--definite article--object of preposition) and songs from the 1930s jazz period. (conjunction--direct object--preposition--definite article--adjective --adjective--object of preposition)

35. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Good parallelism: She revels in sweet chocolate eclairs, long moonlit walks, and classic jazz music. (adjective--adjective--object) X3 More good parallelism: She loves eating chocolate eclairs, taking moonlit walks, and singing classic jazz. (gerund--adjective--object of gerund) X3

36. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Simple Parallel: She looked tired, frustrated, and disgusted. The three underlined words are arranged in a series of coordinated elements. These elements all have the same form and the same grammatical function (adjectives which in the sentence serve as complements). Because of this similarity of form and function, they are said to be parallel.

37. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Complex parallel: “Robert E. Lee was a foe without hate, a friend without treachery, a soldier without cruelty…” (Canton) This sentence goes beyond simple combining and achieves rhythm and cadence through the deliberate repetition of parallel elements.

38. PARALLEL STRUCTURE “…a new generation of Americans born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of their ancient heritage…” (Kennedy) “The average American citizen is apathetic to the political process, confused by legislative deviousness, manipulated by the power structure, and ignorant of what all this can mean to his or her life.” (Yorkin)

39. PARALLEL STRUCTURE Series of Parallel Sentences: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.” (King)

40. WRITING with STYLE By mixing up the types of sentences you write: you challenge yourself to write with style ? you will have fun writing ? your audience will enjoy reading what you have written ? you will get better grades ?