THE MASTERPIECE SENTENCES
SIX-STAGE PROCESS
STAGE 1: PREPARE YOUR CANVAS:
BASE SUBJECT + BASE PREDICATE
(Choose a subject and a verb)
The birds flew.
STAGE 2: PAINT YOUR PREDICATE
(Tell more about what happened. Predicate painters may include prepositional phrases or
single words (adverbs)… How? When? Where?)
The birds flew (how?) with wings outstretched (when?) at sunset (where?)
over the waves.
STAGE 3: MOVE THE PREDICATE PAINTERS
(To decide the desired style of sentence construction, move the predicate painters to
different parts of the sentence. Continue to focus on the base subject and base predicate
on which the sentence is being built.)
With wings outstretched, the birds flew over the waves at sunset. … or
The birds flew over the waves with wings outstretched at sunset. … or
Over the waves at sunset, the birds flew with wings outstretched.
STAGE 4: PAINT YOUR SUBJECT
(Painting the subject means to describe the subject with details, to tell more about it.
Subject painters may include prepositional phrases, relative clauses or single words
(adjectives). Which? What kind of? How many?)
At sunset, with wings outstretched, (how many?) a thousand (what kind
of?) giant white birds (relative clause) that emerged from the clouds flew over the waves.
STAGE 5: PAINT YOUR WORDS
(Find more precise, descriptive words to replace some of the ordinary words in a
sentence. Use a thesaurus. Begin with the base subject and base predicate. Then
identify subject or predicate painters that can be strengthened.)
birds = seagulls flew = soared waves = thundering tide over = above
STAGE 6: FINISHING TOUCHES
(Are there parts of the sentence that might do better in a different position? Move
sentence parts and decide what works best. Last, you should check your spelling with a
dictionary.
At sunset, a thousand giant white seagulls burst
through the clouds with wings outstretched and
soared above the thundering tide.
8 Language Arts
Barrow
Name:
Date:
Period:
MASTERPIECE SENTENCES
Following the Masterpiece Sentence format, use another piece of paper to
transform each of these base sentences into masterpiece sentences. Write
the final masterpiece sentence below each of these base sentences. Attach
your drafts to the back of this page.
1. The dog ran.
2. The girl laughed.
3. A bird flew.
4. A car drove.
5. An airplane flew.
6. A kite flew.
7. The wave crashed.
8. The crowd cheered.
9. The student learned.
10. The rain poured.