Learning Center
Sentence Variety
A paragraph in which every sentence begins with the subject soon becomes monotonous, and
readers get tired of seeing the same kind of sentence over, and over, and over, and over again.
Mix things up. In addition to changing the structure of the sentence, there are six primary ways
to add variety to your sentences.
1) Begin your sentence with a prepositional phrase:
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Under the desk, the rabbit sat quietly.
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At the beginning of summer, I looked forward to swimming.
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During his lunch hour, Bob ate a pastrami sandwich at the deli across the street.
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In the next chapter, Woolf offers another clue to lead readers to think that Rachel’s death
did not happen by accident.
2) Begin your sentence with an –ly word (adverb):
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Quietly, the rabbit sat.
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Calmly and quickly, I walked to the store and bought my medicine.
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Immediately, the image of a lone figure cresting a hill came to mind.
3) Begin your sentence with an –ing word:
In some sentences, the –ing word or phrase will act as a participle, as in the following sentences:
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Following this pattern of thought, the reader can suppose that in some way Rachel
anticipates her death.
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Jumping over the moon, the cow smiled.
In other sentences, the –ing word or phrase will act as a gerund:

Traveling to the store used to be my favorite outing.
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Jumping over the moon makes the cow smile.
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4) Begin your sentence with an –ed/-en word:

Shaken, I walked to my car after witnessing a terrible accident.
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Traumatized by the exploding van full of pet food, I knew that I would never buy
Kibbles and Bits again.
5) Begin your sentence with a dependent clause:
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Since it was raining outside, I took an umbrella with me to class.

Because the author fails to directly cite any experts on the topic, his argument is
weakened by his choice to ignore critical sources.

While there is no doubt that Rachel’s fever results from an accidental encounter with
illness-causing bacteria, Woolf seems to suggest that both Rachel and Terrence
ultimately had willful involvement in Rachel’s death, intimating that more than mere
coincidence led to her demise.
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Although these examples varying in content, they all show students how to add
variety to their writing.
6) Use a Very Short Sentence (VSS):
Write a sentence that sums up or concludes your point using five words or less.

Jesus wept.
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My day was ruined.

His argument failed.

The audience left.