Name:__________________________________________________
Syntax Analysis Worksheet – Use Charles Dickens’ passage from Bleak House to complete the chart.
With the exception of the shaded categories, use numbers or a check mark as appropriate to fill in the information. For the shaded categories, you
will use words to fill in the information.
Sentence
Number of words
1
2
3
4
First word
Number of independent
clauses
Number of subordinate
clauses
Use of dash, semicolon,
or exclamation point
Number of polysyllabic
words
Use of reverse order
questions
Number of prepositional
phrases
Use of repetition
Use of parallel
structures
Use of rhetorical
fragments
Use of antithetical or
balanced structures
Use of comparisons
Types of figurative
language
Use of colloquial
expressions or
regionalisms
Please complete the back of this handout.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Name:__________________________________________________
The Passage as a Whole:
1. What other unusual or distinguishing characteristics of sentence structure appear?
2. What patterns emerge in this analysis?
3. How do the syntactical techniques the author uses contribute to the tone or theme of the piece?
a. Tone:
b. Theme: