Vary Your Sentence Style

Sentences can be as varied as writers who compose them. Having a variety of sentence styles will enhance your writing and make it more interesting for readers. There are many ways to vary your sentence style. For example, some sentences start with the subject which is followed by the verb; however, inverted sentences place the verb before the subject. Some sentences are short and choppy while others are lengthy and smooth. Some sentences are direct declarations. Others are indirect and meandering. Some sentences use a variety of internal punctuation marks while others use none. Various combinations of dependent and independent clauses will determine both a sentence's length and its structure. There are endless ways to vary sentence patterns and it is important to do so. Using all short sentences, for example, will make your writing choppy and rough while using all lengthy sentences will make your writing confusing and tedious. Always starting your sentences with subjects will make your writing feel stiff and repetitive. What you should strive for is achieving a rhythm to your writing that employs varying sentence styles to create a harmonious flow, much like a muscial score employs short and long notes, chords and riffs to achieve musical effect. The right combination of sentence lengths and patterns can make your writing musical and it will sing in readers' ears.