EF5/6 Sentence combining work

sentence combining-
-William Strong, college instructor
- his students weren't great writers, wanted to help them
- research - best methods to improve sentence writing
1. teach and study grammar - writing got worse
2. reading 
3. sentence combining - very effective way to improve sentence writing

KERNEL, find new information
add in the new information

If you do the work, it'll help a lot.

sentence combining - great for beginners up to university level and beyond

EX:
The dog is cute.
The dog is red.
SOLUTIONS
The dog is cute and red.
The red dog is cute.
The cute dog is red.
The dog which is red is cute.

Kai plays soccer.
He scores a lot of goals.
SOLUTIONS
Kai plays soccer and scores a lot of goals.
Kai scores a lot of goals when he plays soccer.
Top-quality sentences.

-literacy skills for a lifetime


High level sentence combining work
any William Strong book

search Strong, William S

from extremely easy to very challenging

no limit- 

Our goals:
1. Concise, dense sentences
2. Good variety of sentences
Extended goal: To write sentences that are beautiful.

SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX -basic styles, Step 1, IKEA sentences, functional, practical

Step 2,3,4 Beautiful sentences, stylish sentences, elegant writing, fancier styles

Ex 63
1. The sky rumbled for a long time before the thunderstorm began.
The sky rumbled for a long time; then the thunderstorm began.

The thunderstorm began after the sky rumbled for a long time.

Before the thunderstorm began, the sky rumbled for a long time.

2. Many people enjoy lamb because it has a unique taste.

Many people enjoy lamb which has a unique taste.

Lamb has a unique taste, so many people enjoy it.
BASIC IKEA SENTENCES

Many people enjoy lamb; in my opinion, it has a unique taste.

STYLE:
Many people enjoy lamb for its unique taste.
Many people enjoy the unique taste of lamb.

4. The radio station announced the winning name; it was not mine.
The radio station announced the winning name; sadly/unfortunately, it was not mine.
The radio station announced the winning name, but it was not mine.
, SOBA - PB and J, peanut butter and jam sandwich
not fancy, but still good

6. Don't look directly at the eclipse, or you'll damage your eyes.
Don't look directly at the eclipse; otherwise, you'll damage your eyes.
solar eclipse, lunar eclipse
Don't look directly at the eclipse, or else you'll damage your eyes.
The eclipse might damage your eyes, so don't look directly at it.

10. Dorota and her sister will bring salads.
Dorota will bring a salad; also/similarly, her sister will bring one.   a bit overwritten
overdressed
Both Dorota and her sister will both bring salads.
two people -'both' works well
Either Dorota or her sister will bring a salad. 1 salad
Neither Dorota nor her sister will bring a salad. 0 salad
7. Zygmunt was not boring; in fact, he was interesting.
Zygmunt was not boring; in other words, he was interesting.

in other words - explaining something tricky to understand

Zygmunt was interesting and not boring.

STYLE
What Zygmunt was saying was not boring; in fact, he was a very interesting speaker.

What Zygmunt was saying was not boring.
'What Zygmunt was saying' noun clause


FOR THE FUTURE:

Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace

by Joseph M. Williams (Author), Gregory G. Colomb (Author)