Sentence Variety

Children’s poetry is often written in an unvaried sentence structure, each sentence repeating the cadence of the ones before. For instance, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are? / Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky” not only rhymes but also has a pattern of syllabication and sentence structure. While it is easy to remember lines such as these, it is not a great idea to write a college essay without variation in sentence structure.

There are basically four different sentence structures: Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound/Complex, and it’s a good idea to use all four types in compositions (Sentence Structures);

To keep a reader’s attention, variety is necessary. An essay composed of simple sentences only will soon have the reader nodding off, no matter what the content of the essay might be. An essay written solely in compound/complex sentences might result in brain overload for the reader. Good writers avoid endless repetitions of the same kind of sentence structure and use all four types so that their readers remain alert and focused.

One way to add interest to a paper that happens, for unknown reasons, to be a series of simple sentences is to combine sentences, thereby adding variation and liveliness to the writing.

"I went to the beach. The sun was shining. The waves were great. I spent hours surfing."

A good day sounds somewhat dull when described in the four simple sentences above.

If I combine the four simple sentences, perhaps the moment will seem more exciting.

"I surfed for hours when I went to the beach because the sun was shining on great waves."

Even that doesn’t truly capture the moment, so I might consider adding adjectives and adverbs to make the day come alive for the reader.

"I surfed in the zone for hours when I went to the nearly deserted beach where the sun shone brightly on amazingly great, sky-blue waves."

A clearer picture emerges with both sentence structure variety and words and phrases that modify.

Good writers generally use all the ways the language allows to inspire their readers to think and to imagine. Varying sentence structure and using modifiers are two ways to keep the readers’ attention from wandering away to peaceful daydreams of sunlit beaches with waves that reach as far as the clear blue sky.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

New Beginnings

We don’t have a long and cold winter in South Texas, but we’re glad to know that spring is on its way, even so. New green and growing plants all over the city, time to head to the beach and feel sunshine beaming down… good things happen in the spring.

Another good part of spring is that the Stone Writing Center remains a rock of support for writers in all disciplines on campus and online. You can send a paper to our expert and receive a reply via email in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. You can even submit a quick question and get a faster response.

If you’ve not come to see us yet, maybe I can give you an overview of what to expect when you do visit in person.

You’ll notice immediately how polite, knowledgeable, and welcoming the Student Assistants are. They’ll be the first people you see, and they’ll sign you in to use our computers (loaded with Office 2007, wifi connected) or schedule you for an appointment with one of the tutors. Any one of the staff will answer questions you might have. You’ll also notice an array of handouts, hard copies you can pick up and keep. The topics range from how to cite sources to information on grammar and literary elements. All handouts are written by SWC staff, and they’ve condensed information very clearly and succinctly. You can also find all of our handouts online (Handouts).

The computer lab is quiet, the equipment is up to date, and you are allowed to print your papers here. Tutors and Student Assistants are in the area to help if you have computer questions or writing questions. You can also complete a lab (Labs) make-up here.

Tutoring sessions are face to face with professional Writing Consultants who read your paper and talk with you about your writing. Mostly, we like to make sure you have higher order elements in place, thesis statement, topic sentences, unified paragraphs, etc., but we will point out lower order areas, mechanics problems if there are any, and show you how to fix mistakes with commas and such. It’s against our rules to proofread papers, but we do let you know if there are errors and show you ways to identify and fix them. Some students come to talk with a tutor even before they start writing just to clarify assignments or get feedback on the ideas they have for an upcoming paper.

The SWC‘s Boot Camps (Boot Camps) are great for reviewing and improving all things related to writing, from grammar to essays to research papers. It’s one more way for students to prepare for college level writing.

The SWC is among the first writing centers established in the country, and we have kept pace with the times. You’ll see us on Twitter, we have podcasts, and we have a professional on-line tutoring service.

Spring is a time to renew and to do something new. We hope to see you here or on line. Welcome, from the Stone Writing Center.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!