Word Choice &
Sentence Structure
INGL3202– Fall 2011
Nataly Rodriguez
WORD CHOICE
Wrong word choice can result in awkwardness,
vagueness, and unclearness.
Be careful when using words you are unfamiliar
with.
Make sure you know the meaning of the words you
are using.
Look for repetition, which sometimes can be good,
but others it can be BAD.
 Avoid losing the message with wordiness.
Be precise and clear. Avoid generalizations.
Check spelling!
WORD CHOICE: Transitions
Not all transitions have the same usage.
 Location/ place:
 among, inside, over.
 Concluding:
 as a result, as we have seen, given these points.
 Clarification:
 in other words, put another way.
 Adding examples:
 In the same, additionally, likewise.
WORD CHOICE:
Commonly confused words
There is a tendency to confuse words that look alike,
sound alike, or both.
THESE ARE NOT THE SAME
Know
Did you know the difference
between these two words?
Than
These rules are harder than I
expected.
Now
Hint: Know is a verb
I did not, but I do now that you
explained it to me.
Then
I understood the first example,
and then got stuck on the rest.
There
There are 28 students in the
classroom.
Clothes
I love wearing comfortable
clothes like t-shirts and jeans.
They’re
They’re all very tired.
Cloths
Wipe your face with a damp
cloth.
Their
Their eyes are
closing!
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Every complete sentence has a subject and
a predicate.


SUBJECT- What or whom the sentence
is about.
PREDICATE- Tells something about the
subject and contains the verb.
SENTENCE STUCTURE:
Complete Sentence
Example:
Jonas runs.
Subject
Predicate
Jonas and his dog run every morning.
Subject
Predicate
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
Fragments
If a sentence does not have both a
subject and a verb, it is called a
fragment.
Fragment means “broken piece”. A
fragment sentence is only a piece of a
sentence, not a complete sentence.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
Fragments
There are three problems a fragment can have:
No subject
Also loves to follow my teenage brother around.
No verb
He short for his age.
No subject or verb
And long, blonde hair.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
Run-on sentences
A run-on sentence is two (or more) sentences
joined without adequate punctuation or a
connecting word.
Run-on Sentence:
I thought the ride would never end my eyes were
crossed, and my fingers were numb.
Corrected:
I thought the ride would never end. My eyes were
crossed, and my fingers were numb.