From the OWL resource Sentence Variety
This resource was written by Purdue OWL.
Last full revision by Ryan Weber.
Last edited by Allen Brizee on April 29th 2009 at 2:36PM
Jump to listing of all of this resource's sections
For Short, Choppy Sentences
If your writing contains lots of short sentences that give it a choppy
rhythm, consider these tips.
1. Combine Sentences With Conjunctions:
Join complete sentences, clauses, and phrases with conjunctions:
and, but, or, nor, yet, for, so
Example: Doonesbury cartoons
satirize contemporary politics. Readers don't always find this funny. They
demand that newspapers not carry the strip.
Revision: Doonesbury cartoons laugh
at contemporary politicians, but readers don't always find this funny and
demand that newspapers not carry the strip.
2. Link Sentences Through Subordination:
Link two related sentences to each other so that one carries the main
idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence (subordination). Use
connectors such as the ones listed below to show the relationship.
after, although, as, as if, because, before, even
if, even though, if, if only, rather than, since, that, though, unless,
until, when, where, whereas, wherever, whether, which, while
Example: The campus parking problem
is getting worse. The university is not building any new garages.
Revision: The campus parking problem
is getting worse because the university is not building any new garages.
Example: The US has been highly
dependent on foreign oil for many years. Alternate sources of energy are
only now being sought.
Revision: Although the US has been
highly dependent on foreign oil for many years, alternate sources are only
now being sought.
Notice in these examples that the location of the clause beginning with
the dependent marker (the connector word) is flexible. This flexibility can
be useful in creating varied rhythmic patterns over the course of a
paragraph.
