Beefing up Sentences

1. Beefing up Sentences What are some strategies to strengthen my sentences?

2. Mentor Sentence Read and copy the MENTOR SENTENCE below. Write at least three things you notice about it. “IT was a brain. A disembodied brain. An oversized brain, just enough larger than normal to be completely revolting and terrifying. A living brain. A brain that pulsed and quivered, that seized and commanded. No wonder the brain was called IT.” (p. 158, A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle)

3. Sentence Fragment • A sentence must have a subject, verb, and complete thought. • A fragment is when a sentence lacks either a subject or a verb

4. Fix Sentence Fragments To fix a sentence fragment, add the missing part or remove the period. Maria wasn't watching her plate of barbecue very carefully. So Santana, the family beagle, snatched a chicken leg hanging over the edge. As baked beans and potato salad slid onto Maria's new sandals. Get rid of the period!

5. How might you fix these fragment? James opened the door of his cluttered refrigerator. Which caused a pint of blueberries to fall to the floor. The fruit bounced. Rolled everywhere in an explosion of indigo.

6. Fix Sentence Short Fragments To fix a sentence fragment, add the missing part The man that I saw yesterday. waved to me. Walking across the street was or The man that I saw yesterday waved to me. Walking across the street was the man that I saw yesterday.

7. Add an Opening • Add a phrase or clause at the beginning of the fragment to focus on a detail, add more information, or bring the reader into the setting Wearing the Atlanta Braves’ cap was The man that I saw yesterday. Now I know that my best friend’s father was was Walking across the street was

8. Add a Closing • Add a phrase or clause at the end of the fragment to focus on a detail or add more information • Don’t forget to add the verb crossed the street while checking his voicemail. The man that I saw yesterday. after the baseball game waved to me holding the fly ball he had caught.

9. Tricks to strengthen short sentences (that used to be fragments) In our example, “The man that I saw yesterday” the simple fix is to add a verb: • waved. • shouted. • saw me.

10. But don’t stop with just the missing piece. Use prepositional phrases, subordinating conjunctions, and appositives to add more detail! The man that I saw yesterday… Prepositional Phrase waved from across the street. Subordinating Conjunction ran away before I could ask him for my money back. Appositive who owed me money, ran.

11. But writers are rule breakers… “And stopped. Kill him for what? That thought crept in. Kill him for what?” -Gary Paulsen “from Woodsong” Why do you think Paulsen breaks the rules?

12. Two Word Sentences Don’t forget the power of two words to give your paragraph variety. Highlight all of the two word sentences. “On weekends, I love to get up early, grab a cup of coffee, and head out to my deck. The air is fresh and clean, and the whole day is stretched before me. Night fades. Dawn breaks. All is still and quiet.”

13. Other Two Word Greats “They race.” -Jerry Spinelli, Loser “Matt froze.” -Nancy Farmer, House of the Scorpion “Maria flinched.” -Nancy Farmer, House of the Scorpion “Blood flew.” -Stephen King, Cujo “Here’s Johnny!” -The Shining “It’s alive!” -Frankenstein

14. Right Here, Right Now Read the paragraph below and fix the sentence fragments. Use a variety of sentences to keep your reader engaged! “When the cell phone began to chime in her book bag. Jasmine froze. In her seat as all eyes in the room darted from her to Mr. Williams. A teacher who tolerated no interruptions during a lecture. He especially hate cell phone s. After he caught students cheating with their phones. Last year!

15. Try it out Can I have a few volunteers who will use this strategy today? Will you plan to bring what you do to the share today?