STRUCTURE AND STYLE: SENTENCE TO PARAGRAPH

STRUCTURE AND STYLE:
SENTENCE TO PARAGRAPH

Hii guys, we meet again. I’m so sorry coz I never greeting you again :D today we’d like to show you “Structure and Style: Sentence to Paragraph”. It’s useful for you to know about sentence before you start your writing. Check it down !!!

Sentence Unity

It has often been started that a senten expresses a complete thought. It has been seen, however, that closely related sentences may be combined to form compound sentences, and that closely related sentences and clauses may be combined to form complex sentences. The important factor to keep in mind is that the combined sentences have some essential relationship with each other, producing onenessof thought. Here are some devices for achieving unity.

Avoid loosely connected (run-on) sentences. Unrelated or loosely related ideas should be expressed in separate sentences. They should not be put together without punctuation. They should not be joined by and, and so, or and than.

 

  Wrong :                                During the late Middle Ages in France, poeple went about  telling the newsand they were called nouvellistes, and some of them illustrated their reports
                Right:                    During the late Middle Ages in France, poeple called nouwellistes went
                                                about telling news. Some of them illustrated their reports.

Avoid connecting lossely related sentences with a comma. If the clauses are closely related, join them by using the appropriate conjunction or a semicolon. Otherwise, make them into separate sentences.

Wrong:                 English newsletters dealt with politics, they were more respected than the
                                                French scandal sheets.
                Right:                    English newsletters dealt with politics. They were more respected than the
                             French scandal sheets.
                Right:                    English newsletters dealt with; therefore, they were more respected than
                                                the French scandal sheets.

Strengthen some compound sentences by making them complex.

                Poor:                     Authors contribute to the early Englsh newspapers, and these men were
                                                famous for their literary style.
                Good:                   Authors who were famous for their literary style contributed to the early
                                                English newspapers.

Avoid breaking one idea into short, monotonous sentences.

                Poor:                     The U.S. Constitution was adopted. It guaranteed freedom of the press.
                                                Newspapers increased.
                Good:                   When the U.S. Constitution was adopted, guaranteeing freedom of the
                                                press, newspapers increased.

Avoid crowding sentences with unrelated or illogical details.

                Poor:                     At the World’s Fairs in Chicago, the “Windy City” of great fame, there was
                                                the largest collection of magazines ever assembled outside the Liberary of
                                                Congress in Washington, D.C.

                Good:                   At the World’s Fair in Chicago, there was largest collection of magazine ever
                                                assambled outside the Library of Congress.

Avoid including to many details, even thougt related. Too many details will detract from the main thought just as much as unrelated or illogical details will.

                Poor:                     Last Tuesday, I left work at 3.30 to interview the efficient, pleasant, well-
                                                dressed, successful, young manager of the large  and growing Brown
                                                Publishing Company on Church Street.
                Good:                   After work last Tuesday, I interviewed the succesful young manager of the
                                                Brown Publishing Company.

Sentence Emphasis

Emphasis demands that sentence be arranged in a way that will call attention to the most important words and stressthe main idea. The following are some ways to achieve the desired emphasisi in the sentence.

Place important words in ephatic position in the sentence. The begining and the end of the sentence are the emphatic positions.

                Poor:                     A priest named Kircher presented the first projector to the world three
                                                centuries ago in Rome.

                Good:                   There centuries ago in Rome, a priest named Kircher presented to the world
                                                the first projector.

Repeat key words. Compare te two sentences which follow. The concept of silence is better emphasized in the second. Notice also the heightened effect that repetition gives. Obviously, repetition of this sort should not be used to the point of monotony.

                Poor:                     Kircher slipped silently behind a curtain,the guests grew quiet, and there
                                                was no noise in the room.

                Good:                   Silently, Kircher slipped behind a curtain; silence fell on the guests; the room
                                                was silent.

Use the active voice. In general, active voice of the verb is more forceful than the passive.  Use the passive voice only when there s good reason. In these sentences, the active  voice of the verb in the secondis more forcefu than the passive voice in the first.

                Poor:                     The first icture wa projected on the screen by Kircher.

                Good:                   Kircher projected the first picture on a screen.

Use contrast occasionally. Study these examples in contrast.

                Good:                   Kircher’s lantern was feared; Edison’s projector, honored.

                Good:                   Few saw the magic shadows; thousands see movies.

                Good:                   Then science was suspect; now it is accepted.

Arrange words or ideas in a series in order of importance, leading to a climax. Sentences containing a series of words or ideas are more forcefull when the words or ideas uild up a climax. Arrange your ideas in ascending order of impotance; from the smallest to the largest, from the least to the greatest, and so on. Contrast these sentences.

                Weak :                  At  the premiere in 1896, there were artists, the grat Edison himself, and
                                                entertainment seekers.

                Strong:                 At th premiere in 1896, there were entertainment seekers, artists, and the
                                                great  Edison himself.

Avoid redundancy. Do not repeat information that is necessary to the meaning, or which is needles or illogical.

                Poor:     Movies are universally enjoyed throughout the world.
                Good:   Movies are universally enjoyed.
                Poor:     Kircher and Edison  are not the only pioneers in the movie history; there are others
                                great Edison himself.
                Good:   Kircher and Ediso are not the only pioneers in the movie history.

Sentence clarity

Clarity means clearness. There are two general rules which are important in writing clear, meanngful sentences. First, think before writing. Be sure to express the desired meanng. Second, make sure sentence structure is correct. Vague sentences are often due to structuralerrors or misuse of certain forms of expression. Some general guidelines to clear writing and some warnings of pitfalls follow.

Make pronoun references lear. Gnerally, it ia a good idea to make all pronouns refer to a specific oun or pronoun. Usually , a pronoun does not refer to a whole idea in a clause or sentence.

Avoid the use they and it as indefinite subjects.

Wrong:                                 They call Edgar Allen Poe the “Father of the Short Story.”
Right:                    Critics call Poe the “Father of the Short Story.”
Wrong:                 It states he  created a new story from.
Right:                    My literature book states he created a new story form.

Avoid the use of pronouns that do not refer  to definte antecedents.
                Wrong:                 Poe liked Hawthore’s stories. He said that, as an American, he could
                                                proud of his writing.

                Right:                    Poe liked Hawthorne’s stories. Poe said that he, as an American, could be proud of Hawtrone's writing.

posted by : Rianda Rita Ayu

EXPANDING THE VERB PHRASE: ADVERBIALS

EXPANDING THE VERB PHRASE:
ADVERBIALS

 

Adverbials That Do Not Follow the Verb

 This lesson deals principally with adverbs that occur in other places in the sentences. These include adverbs of frequency, intensifiers, qualifiers, and adverbials that are used before and after adjectives and in other place in the sentences.
Notice that the illustrative sentences in the chart represent different sentence patterns. The words nouns/adjective are used to include both the direct object of the noun + verb + noun sentence and the subject complement of the noun + linking verb + noun/adjective sentence.

If the complement is an adjective, it may have intensifiers before it.

                He become very worried.

If the complement is a noun, it will not have an adverbial modifier before it unless it preceded by an adjective.

                Prof. Ober gave an interesting talk.
                He gave a very interisting talk.
                He gave an almost perfect explanation.

Qualifiers and intensifiers have been put before adverbs and adjectives in the first chart to show that they may occur with either part of speech. The qualifiersand intensifiers modify the words that follow them.

Intensifiers and Qualifiers

These are words like very, extremely, exceptionally, exceedingly, rather, almost, nearly, completely, too, fairly, somewhat, especially, and quite. They are used before both adjective and adverbs.

                The very small boy can run exceedingly fast.
                The physicist is extremely brilliant.
                His work is exceedingly difficult to understand.
                I have tried very hard to understand it.
                Mozart was an exceptionally gifted musician.
                I am fairly certain that the student will do rather well.
                The quite boisterous young man drove his teachers nearly crazy.
                It is too dark tonight to travel very far.

Adverbs of Frequency

These include always, sometimes, often, usually, frequently, rarely, seldom, ever, hardly, hardly ever, occasionally, and never.

Adverbs of frequency occur before all verbs in the simple present and the simple past tenses except be. They follow be.

                Student usually prefer paperbound texts.
                They often worked late that year.
                Carmen never goes out alone.
                He is never late for dinner.

When the predicate is made up of a verb plus auxiliaries, the frequencyword usually occurs after the first auxiliary.

                She was rarely seen alone.
                He has usually seemed happy to help her.
                They might occasionally have asked her to dinner.

Some of these modifiers change their positions in the sentencequite readily to accommodate the requirements of emphasis and euphony. The most mobile of these modifiers are sometimes, often, usually, frequently, and occasionally. When these modifiers deviate from the normal position, they most commonnly occur at the beginning or at the end of the sentence and are usually separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

                Usually, students prefer paperbound texts.
                Often, we work late on Fridays.
                We work late on Fridays often.

The adverbs seldom, never, rarely, always, hardly, and hardly ever are much less likely to occur out of the normal position. When they do, a change in wording or in word order often occurs, and no comma is required.

                Never is John late.
                But not:
                Never John is late.
                Seldom does he go there.
                But not:
                Seldom he goes there.

Adverbs of Degree

Some adverbs of manner may be used as adverbs of degree with adjectives or other adverbs.

                The strange birds looked unbelievably exotic and breathtakingly beautiful.
                She run incridibly fast.
                He finds strictly authentic ballads greatly superior to other music.

Nouns

These may be used before adjectives to modify them. Thus, they are used adverbially.

                The milk is ice-cold.
                The suit is navy blue.
                The knife is razor-sharp.
                The price of bacon is sky-high.

This use of nouns adverbially implies a comparison. The preceding sentence mean:

                The milk is as cold as ice.
                The suit is as blue (or the same shade of blue) as the blue of the navy.
                The knife is as sharp as a razor.
                The price of bacon is as high as the sky.

Prepositional Phrases

These, as has been shown, are commonly used as adverbs followings verbs. They may also be used after adjectives to modify these adjectives.

                I thougt the entertainmentfit for a king.
                He is stil unsure of his abillity.
                I am optimistic about her chances of success.

Infinitves

These may also follow an adjective and be used adverbially to modify it.

                Tomatoes were once considered not good to eat.
                The tourists are ready to go on safari.
                All students are able to learn something.

Summary: Position of Adverbials

Adverbials in general may be described as the rovers of the English language. They do have some stable pattern of behavior, as has been shown. The general order of adverbials as they appear after verbs is: place, manner, time.

                Mr. Novak goes to Chicago by plane every Tuesday.

However, time adverbials may often appear at the beginning of the sentence.

Adverbs of frequency normally occur before the main verb unless the main verb is be, in which case they occur just after the verb.

These verbs may often occur either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

Only the intensifiers and qualifiers seem totally predictible. They are used immediately before the word they modify and do not vary from this pattern.

 

The sequential relationships between adverbial modifiers and the material modified, are summarized as follows.

MODIFIERS OF ADJECTIVES

intensifier  →  adjective noun  →  adjective adverb  →  adjective adjective  ←  prepositional phrase adjective  ←  infinitive

MODIFIERS OF VERBS

adverbs  →  verb verb  ←  adverb verb  ←  prepositonal phrase verb  ←  infinitive

MODIFIERS OF ADVERBS

intensifier  →  adverb qualifier  →  adverb

posted by : Rianda Rita Ayu