This chapter contains the following sections:
- PART A:Mix Long and Short Sentences
- PART B:Use a Question, a Command, or an Exclamation
- PART C:Vary the Beginnings of Sentences
- PART D:Writing the Topic Sentence or the Thesis Statement
- PART E:Avoid Misplaced and Confusing Modifiers
- PART F:Review and Practice
Chapter introduction:
Good writers pay attention to sentence variety. They notice how sentences work
together within a paragraph, and they seek a mix of different sentence lengths
and types. Experienced writers have a variety of sentence patterns from which to
choose. They try not to overuse one pattern.
This chapter will present several techniques for varying your sentences and
paragraphs. Some of them you may already know and use, perhaps unconsciously.
The purpose of this chapter is to make you more conscious of the
choices available to you as a writer.
Remember, you achieve sentence variety by practicing, by systematically
revising your papers, and by trying out new types of sentences or combinations
of sentences.
To navigate through this chapter's online resources, click the Prepare for Class, Improve Your Grade, and ACE the Test buttons in the blue sidebar on the left.
