Common Writing Problems Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence

Common Writing Problems: Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence Variety is the key to interesting, readable sentences. As you read the paragraph below, notice that all the sentences are about the same length. Notice also that they all begin with the subject-verb pattern. It was almost Emma’s birthday. Her boyfriend Kevin had no ideas for a gift. He wandered the mall. He talked to some clerks. He came away empty-handed. Then he looked online. He was disappointed at what he saw. Emma’s birthday was only a few days away. Kevin was beginning to panic. Grade 8 Writing Companion © Perfection Learning® • Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 1

Common Writing Problems: Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence Variety Notice the different ways that the ideas in the first two sentences of the paragraph can be combined to give more life and variety to the writing. 1. It was almost Emma’s birthday, but her boyfriend Kevin had no ideas for a gift. (two independent clauses joined by a comma and the coordinating conjunction “but”) 2. It was almost Emma’s birthday; her boyfriend Kevin, though, had no ideas for a gift. (two independent clauses joined by a semicolon) Grade 8 Writing Companion © Perfection Learning® • Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 2

Common Writing Problems: Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence Variety 3. Buying the right birthday gift for Emma required that her boyfriend Kevin come up with a good idea. (gerund phrase—phrase with -ing word used as a noun) 4. Trying to think of a gift for Emma’s birthday, Kevin could not come up with an idea. (participial phrase—phrase with -ing word used as a modifier, to modify “Kevin”) 5. Because he lacked ideas, Kevin had not bought Emma a birthday gift. (introductory subordinate clause) Grade 8 Writing Companion © Perfection Learning® • Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 3

Common Writing Problems: Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence Variety 6. What could Kevin buy Emma for her birthday? He had no idea. (interrogative) 7. With no ideas in mind, Kevin had not bought Emma’s birthday gift. (introductory prepositional phrase) 8. Kevin, Emma’s boyfriend, had no idea what to buy Emma for her birthday. (appositive phrase identifying “Kevin”) Grade 8 Writing Companion © Perfection Learning® • Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 4

Common Writing Problems: Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence Variety 9. In order to buy Emma the perfect gift, Kevin needed one thing—an idea. (introductory prepositional phrase; appositive) 10. Kevin, who was suffering from a lack of ideas, had bought nothing for Emma’s birthday. (clause modifying “Kevin”) Grade 8 Writing Companion © Perfection Learning® • Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 5

Common Writing Problems: Sentence Variety Lesson 10 Sentence Variety Read the revised version of the paragraph below. Numbers of the sentence patterns on the previous screens are given in parentheses following the sentence. Revised Paragraph Kevin, Emma’s boyfriend, had no idea what to buy Emma for her birthday. (8) He wandered the mall and talked to some clerks, but he came away empty-handed. (1) Looking online only made Kevin more disappointed. (3) Since Emma’s birthday was only a few days away, Kevin was beginning to panic. (5) Grade 8 Writing Companion © Perfection Learning® • Reproduction permitted for classroom use only. 6