English Writing笔记整理

作者：张诚学

Sentence Variety句子多样化

1. Varying sentence patterns改变句

Basic sentence structure: SVO基本句子结构：主谓宾

• By varying the order of subjects, verbs, and modifiers（通过改变主语、动词、修饰语的顺序）, we can emphasize where it is needed as well as vary sentence patterns.  

Eg.The boy reversed the direction of the canoe immediately. He stopped paddling after a few seconds. He made the canoe drift to the bank slowly. He grabbed one of the overhanging branches when within a yard of the shore.

Revise

The boy immediately reversed the direction of the canoe. After a few seconds, he stopped paddling. Slowly, he made the canoe drift to the bank and when within a yard of the shore, he grabbed one of the overhanging branches.

Vary the opening of sentences改变句子开头

(1) Prepositional phrase介词短语

She is an industrious worker in the scientific laboratory.

In the scientific laboratory, she is an industrious worker.

(2) Participle or participial phrase分词短语

I jogged every day and increased my energy level.

Jogging every day, I soon increased my energy level.

(3) Gerundial phrase动名词短语

It is fun speaking Russian. → Speaking Russian is fun.

(4) Infinitive phrase不定式短语

You must attend every class to succeed in that course.

To succeed in that course, you must attend every class.

(5) Appositive同位语

The forest ranger, an expert in forest fire control, talked to the campers about safety in the woods.

An expert in forest fire control, the forest ranger talked to the campers about safety in the woods.

(6) Adjective or adjective phrase形容词短语

The boys were tired and dirty when they returned to the camp.

Tired and dirty, the boys returned to the camp.

(7) Adverb副词

The fog was slowly settling down.

Slowly, the fog was settling down.

Try starting your sentences in different ways

Not necessarily all declarative sentences（陈述句）.

• Declarative sentence: a statement that gives information

• Interrogative sentence（疑问句）: a question

• Imperative sentence（祈使句）: a command

• Exclamatory sentence（感叹句）: shows strong emotions or feelings

2. Varying sentence types改变句子类型

• Use simple sentences for emphasis（强调） and clarity（阐明）.

A simple sentence contains only one independent clause, but it is not necessarily short. It can have more than one subject, more than one verb, and several modifiers.

• Use compound sentences（并列句） to show relationships among equally important ideas.

  • With a coordinating/correlative conjunction（关联词，并列连接词）

Leon asked a question, and the whole class was surprised.

Either the jury will reach a verdict tonight, or it will recess until Monday morning.

  • With a semicolon（分号）

It was anti-authoritarian and liberationist; it celebrated inarticulateness and error as proof of authenticity.

   • With a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb（连接副词）

Each year thousands of children are adopted; consequently, adoption service agencies have increased in number.

• Use complex sentences（复合句） to show that one or more ideas are less important than another idea.
• Use compound-complex sentences（并列复合句） occasionally to express complicated relationships.

3. Varying sentence length改变句子长度

• Use sentence length to achieve a specific effect.

• Short Sentences

— sharp and emphatic;

— definition, statements of weighty truth, or emphatic assertion.

• Longer sentences

—move the reader more slowly through the essay

—appropriate for description, explanation, or argument

A combination of long sentences and short ones is preferred.