Lesson: Sentence Types
Sentence Types Review
Have you ever read a paragraph where all the sentences were about the same length? Maybe all of the sentence were short and choppy. Maybe all of the sentence were long and hard to follow. Either way, this does not make for a good experience for a reader.
The best types of paragraphs contain a variety of sentence types and lengths. You have learned about the four sentence types:
A good guideline to use is to place short sentences between longer ones. Use short sentences for emphasis at key places in your paragraphs.
Read the paragraph below to see how one writer effectively uses all four types of sentences. The sentence types are colored red.
Because the Puritans were seeking religious freedom, they left England and settled in Massachusetts, where they were able to practice their own religion in peace; however, other groups did not find life among the Puritans to be peaceful. (Compound-Complex) Instead, they sought to escape the rigid laws that the Puritans made them live by. (Complex) Escaping Puritan intolerance, these groups started the colony of Rhode Island. (Simple) Intolerance was not unique to Massachusetts. (Simple) In Maryland, Catholics could not hold public religious services, and Jews could not even vote in most colonies. (Compound) The Puritans, while seeking religious freedom for themselves, fell short of extending it to others. (Complex)
Paragraph Credit: from Grammar for Writing, Grade 10 by Sadlier
The best types of paragraphs contain a variety of sentence types and lengths. You have learned about the four sentence types:
- Simple Sentence: one independent clause [The Georgia Bulldogs is Mr. Hoskins's favorite college team.]
- Compound Sentence: two or more independence clauses joined by a conjunction, semicolon, or colon [The Georgia Bulldogs is Mr. Hoskins's favorite college team, and the Miami Dolphins is his favorite NFL team.]
- Complex Sentence: one or more dependent clauses and one independent clause [Although the Georgia Bulldogs is Mr. Hoskins's favorite college team, the Miami Dolphins is his favorite NFL team.]
- Compound-Complex Sentence: one or more dependent clauses and at least two independent clauses [Although the Georgia Bulldogs is Mr. Hoskins's favorite college team, the Miami Dolphins is his favorite NFL team, but the Dolphins haven't been good for a while.]
- Reading many short sentences (simple sentences) in a row is like riding in a car with a driver who keeps stepping on the brake every ten feet. Just when you get moving, you grind to a stop and have to start over. Plus, it takes forever to get to your destination.
- Reading many long sentences (compound-complex sentences) in a row is like getting lost in a maze. You take so many twists and turns that it's easy to get lost. By the time you get to the end, you have forgotten why you entered the maze in the first place.
A good guideline to use is to place short sentences between longer ones. Use short sentences for emphasis at key places in your paragraphs.
Read the paragraph below to see how one writer effectively uses all four types of sentences. The sentence types are colored red.
Because the Puritans were seeking religious freedom, they left England and settled in Massachusetts, where they were able to practice their own religion in peace; however, other groups did not find life among the Puritans to be peaceful. (Compound-Complex) Instead, they sought to escape the rigid laws that the Puritans made them live by. (Complex) Escaping Puritan intolerance, these groups started the colony of Rhode Island. (Simple) Intolerance was not unique to Massachusetts. (Simple) In Maryland, Catholics could not hold public religious services, and Jews could not even vote in most colonies. (Compound) The Puritans, while seeking religious freedom for themselves, fell short of extending it to others. (Complex)
Paragraph Credit: from Grammar for Writing, Grade 10 by Sadlier
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