Syntactical Eloquence

BUILDING MUSCLE AND BEAUTY:PHRASES AND CLAUSES

A sentence should be alive…

Sentences need energy to make meaning jump off the page and into the reader’s head. As a writer you must embed energy in the sentence—coil the spring, set the trap.

Peter Elbow, Writing with Power

How to Write a Sentence

Within a piece of written work, every sentence should stand in a clear relationship to other sentences. Each sentence, and indeed every word of every sentence, should support the purpose of the written piece.

An important part of writing with discipline is connecting sentences to the broader context within which they are located, seeing how they fit within the whole. For every sentence you write, then, you can ask:◦ How does this sentence connect with the other sentences in the

paragraph?◦ How does this sentence relate to the organizing idea of this text as a

whole?

Independent Clause Contains a subject and a verb Makes a complete statement Can stand alone

dependent Clause (or Subordinate clause)

a clause that augments an independent clause with additional information

cannot stand alone as a sentence

there are different types of dependent clauses including: noun clauses, relative (adjectival) clauses, and adverbial clauses

What is a sentence?There are four basic sentence structures:

1. Simple Sentence 2. Compound Sentence

3. Complex Sentence 4. Compound-Complex Sentence

1. Simple Sentence

Definition: a sentence that contains a main (or independent) clause—a subject and verb (or predicate)

Example:

Shayda ran to the restaurant.

2. Compound Sentence

Definition: a sentence that contains two or more main (or independent) clauses and no subordinate (or dependent) clauses

Example: Shayda ran to the restaurant, and Melissa walked.

Coordinating Conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

You can remember them using the acronym FANBOYS.

Place a comma before the conjunction

3. Complex SentenceDefinition: a sentence that contains one main (or independent) clause and at least one subordinate (or dependent) clause

Example:

Screaming in ravenous hunger, Shayda ran to the restaurant.

4. Compound-Complex Sentence

Definition: a sentence that contains at least two main (or independent) clauses and one or more subordinate (or dependent) clauses

Example:

Screaming in ravenous hunger, Shayda ran to the restaurant, and Melissa walked.

There are four basic sentence types:

declarative: makes a statement◦ ex. Grace is a silent assassin in debate.

A declarative sentence is the most common sentence in writing. Written in the active voice, using parallel structure and consistency in tense, declarative sentences are the hallmark of good expository writing.

There are four basic sentence types:

imperative: gives a command◦ ex. Bow down to Samantha Good.

The imperative is always considered to be written in the second person point of view, because "you" (the reader of the sentence or the recipient of the message) is understood to be the subject of the sentence. You don't have to write out "You have to go the store" for the person to know what you are saying. The imperative is always considered to be in the active voice.

There are four basic sentence types:

interrogative: asks a question◦ ex. Why is Jennal so sleepy?

In expository writing, the use of the interrogative is considered to be a rhetorical question--a question posed by the writer that he or she fully intends on answering. The interrogative sentence or rhetorical question should be used sparingly in your writing and should not be used to propel your essay forward at every point in your organization.

There are four basic sentence types:

exclamatory: makes an exclamation◦ ex. My freshmen are smashing!

Avoid using exclamation marks in formal writing. Formal writing is considered a means of communicating information, and is kept rather boring so that communication is not interrupted in any way. Exclamation marks impart an excitement which may distract the reader from the information. Generally, exclamation marks are not used in formal writing as they are seen to concentrate on the emotion rather than the information. Use of an exclamation mark might also imply a lack of professionalism on the writer’s part.

◦ If you’re writing informally or creatively, an exclamation mark can be even more effective than words when implying tone.◦ Global warming will be the downfall of mankind!◦ The author believes her editor to be entirely in the wrong!

Revising for Syntactical Eloquence—

TIPS1. Revise your essay by checking to see that you utilized a variety of sentence types.

2. Determine if your use of sentence types is sparingly varied and appropriate.