SENTENCE VARIETY
“Variety’s the very spice of life
That gives it all its flavour.”
- William Cowper
Sentence (noun)
A GROUP OF WORDS THAT EXPRESSES A
THOUGHT AND IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF.
Variety (noun)
THE QUALITY OF BEING DIFFERENT; NOT
HAVING UNIFORMITY OR SAMENESS
Poetry is difficult. I don't write it very well. My English professor
in college agrees with me. He sent me a book. He sent me Poetry
for Dummies. I felt stupid after seeing it. I still talk to the
professor. We don't talk much about poetry. He sent me that
book, after all. We do talk about our children. I asked for his
recommendation on poetry books for children. He suggested
something to me. He suggested they teach me poetry. He really
humiliated me. I am over it now. I talked to my therapist about
it. I decided to do a poetry extravaganza. I went to the library
with my kids. I chose 20 poetry books. They voted on the top 5.
That's why I'm writing this.
Poetry, the bane of my existence, is an activity enjoyed by my
English professor that tormented me, a college graduate, for many
years. My professor, still a good friend of mine who converses with
me from time to time about literature and other tidbits, told me I
was not very good at poetry, going as far as to send me a copy of a
book, a rather useful yet insulting book, entitled Poetry for
Dummies, which, although intended as humor, hurt my feelings. I
talked to my therapist, a rather good man who, like me, has a
general disdain for poetry, and he told me I should have a poetry
extravaganza with my children--Tom, Joe, and Mary--and let them
see if they enjoy poetry.
Sentence Basics!
• It starts with a capital
letter and ends with a full
stop, a question, or an
exclamation point.
– Declarative Sentence: The
sky is blue.
– Interrogative Sentence:
Why is the sky blue?
– Exclamatory Sentence:
The sky is blue now!
– Imperative Sentence:
Don’t go outside!
Independent & Dependent Clauses
• A clause is a group of words that has a subject
and a verb.
– Independent Clause: A complete sentence
– Dependent Clause: An incomplete thought that
contains a subordinator
• When… Since… After… If… Although… In… Because…
While…
• A DEPENDENT CLAUSE MUST BE COMBINED
WITH AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE TO AVOID THE
SENTENCE BEING A FRAGMENT.
Independent & Dependent Clauses
• For example:
– When Alexa gets here, let’s start the music.
– If Danny comes to class late, he will stay after class
to get his assignment.
– I’m going to take a walk because the weather is
beautiful.
– Clare will go shopping after she makes a list.
– Although the assignment is not due until next
Friday, the students will have all of their work
done before the end of this week.
Independent & Dependent Clauses
• For example:
– When Alexa gets here, let’s start the music.
– If Danny comes to class late, she will stay after
class to get his assignment.
– I’m going to take a walk because the weather is
beautiful.
– Clare will go shopping after she makes a list.
– Although the assignment is not due until next
Friday, the students will have all of their work
done before the end of this week.
Compound & Complex Sentences
• Compound Sentence:
Combining two
sentences with a
conjunction
– For… And… But… Or…
Yet… So… etc.
• Complex Sentence:
Using at least one
dependent clause and
one independent clause
Sentence Patterns
• The most common
sentence pattern is
subject-verb-object
(SVO).
– The boy ate pizza.
– I play soccer.
– Homework is boring.
• There are many ways to
rewrite these simple
sentences!
Spice up those sentences!
• Turn it into a question:
The boy ate pizza.
– Do you know what the boy ate?
Pizza.
• Turn it into an exclamatory
sentence:
– The boy ate pizza again!
• Combine it with your next
sentence:
– The boy wolfed down the pizza
and then ran outside to play.
• Other examples:
– As fast as he could, the boy ate
the pizza.
– Although the he wanted to keep
playing, the boy rushed in and
wolfed down his pizza lunch.
Sentence Length
• Avoid using sentences that are all the same
length. Your most important sentences should
be clear and concise. Keep them short!
– Short sentences are powerful. Combine short
sentences with long sentences to make your
writing flow more naturally.
Which paragraph has more natural variety?
A. The boy’s mother called him inside for dinner.
The boy ate his pizza. He was very hungry. He
didn’t want to eat, though. He wanted to play
outside with his friends.
B. The boy’s mother called him inside for dinner. It
was pizza. Even though the boy was hungry and
pizza was his favorite meal, he wanted to stay
outside and play. He wolfed the pizza down and
ran back outside.
“When you dip her in the middle of the dance floor, it is the color of her dress.
When she whispers in your ear, it is the color of her lips. When you make love,
it is the trace you want her to leave all over your body. When she places her
palm over your heart, it is the color that comes to the surface as her fingertips
trail like a sentence that can never be finished. When you see her in the
bedroom with another, it is the color of your breath. When you smash the vase
in the hall, it is the color that threatens you to abandon the shattered pieces.
When you scream at the top of your lungs, it is the color that pierces the
atmosphere. When she hears you, it is the color of her pulse. When you look in
her eyes for the last time, it is the fading color of your heart falling to your
knees. It is not the color you see when she leaves.”
—Describing the color red without using the word ‘red’, by Tyler Ford
Adjectives (noun)
A WORD OR PHRASE NAMING AN
ATTRIBUTE, ADDED TO A NOUN TO MODIFY
OR DESCRIBE IT.
Spice Up Your Sentences
• One of the easiest ways
to add a variety of
details is by adding
adjectives to your
sentences.
– The boy ate pizza.
– The exhausted young
boy ate the cold, stale
pizza leftover from
yesterday’s dinner.
REMEMBER!
A VARIETY OF SENTENCES CAN HELP MAKE YOUR
WRITING FLOW SMOOTHLY AND BEAUTIFULLY.
ADDING DETAILS TO EXPAND ON YOUR
EXPERIENCES CREATES A MORE REALISTIC STORY
THAT READERS CAN CONNECT WITH!
As you are working on your first draft, take note of how you are
writing your sentences, how they sound, and how they look!
Push through! You can do it! I believe in you 
WRITING CHALLENGE!
HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU REWRITE,
EXPAND, REORDER, OR REWORD THESE
BORING SENTENCES?
How many ways can you
rewrite these sentences?
1. I am sick.
2. I have school
tomorrow.
3. My room is small.
4. Amanda is busy.
5. It’s Wednesday.
6. There’s nothing to do.
7. It’s cold in this house.