12 ways to write a sentence

Walt: Identify WTE sentences to improve our writing.

1) The simple sentence
Simple sentences begin with the subject of the sentence (eg. he, she, it, they, I, someones name, or a place).

"Hornby High School is a multi cultural school."

2) Very short sentence
The very short sentence is one of the most powerful sentence styles ever developed. Immediately, it grabs your attention. The rule: five words or less.

"Five innocent kids were framed"

3) The power sentence
If you find you waffle a bit, try the power sentence. Begin your paragraph with a power sentence of 12 words or less. Get straight to the point.

"Having breakfast in the morning is key to having energy all day."

4) Red, white, and blue
Use the red, white, and blue sentence  style when you have several ideas to convey about a topic.

"Mcdonalds, subway, kfc, you see takeaways everywhere."

5) The adverb start
Start a sentence with an adverb; it adds interest and intrigue. The rule: when you start your sentence with adverb, place a comma after the adverb then write the rest of the sentence. Examples: Quickly, Curiously, Importantly, Firstly, Often, Remarkably, Similarly, Significantly, Surprisingly, Readily.

"Often, no one ever reports these crimes."

6) Begin with a preposition
Try starting your sentence with a preposition. Prepositions are little words indicating movement or position. Examples: In, Against, Before, Between, Over, Behind, Within, Under, Below, At, For, Throughout, Near, About.

"Throughout her time in jail, she always wrote letters to her father every week."

7) The -ing start
Try starting a sentence with the -ing form of a verb. The rule: when you start your sentence with adverb, place a comma after the adverb then write the rest of the sentence.

"Deciding, she would take over, left the crowd feeling daunted."

8) The -ed start
Try starting a sentence with the -ed form of a verb. It makes for a punchy opening to the sentence.

"Forced to take matters into her own hands worried her."

9) The semicolon 
When you have two independent clauses (two mini sentences) joined by a conjunction (eg. and, but), you can removed the conjunction and replace it with a semicolon.

"Rugby was his passion; he was a brilliant player."

10) The em-dash 
The em-dash in English is the long dash. Use the long dash to drop a phrase in a sentence that is at complete odds with the flow of the sentence - way out there - but which adds colour and interest.

"Lady Macbeth - the protagonists wife - was a vicious, selfish woman."

11) The W-start sentence
Try beginning a sentence with a W-word. Here are some: who, while, when, where, what, whereas. The W-start makes the writing sound thoughtful and knowledgeable.

"With all her plans aligned, she was ready to wipe them out."

12) Explore the subject
Accomplished writers use this sentence style. The rule: Begin your sentence with the subject then place a comma. Say something interesting about the subject. Place another comma. Then, finish your sentence.

"Hitler, who was well known for his position against jews, suddenly commited suicide."