Sentence Mastery

Structured Exercises in Metamorphosis, Coordination, & Parallel Construction

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Syntactic Variation: The Art of Sentence Metamorphosis

Objective: Cultivate an acute awareness of syntactic flexibility through sentence reconstruction.

Procedure: With a series of deceptively simple sentences. Challenge yourself to recast each sentence thrice, preserving semantic content while radically altering the syntactic structure. This exercise illuminates the myriad possibilities inherent in phrase construction.

Exemplar:

• Original: "She reads books and writes reports."

• Variation 1: "The act of reading books and writing reports occupies her time."

• Variation 2: "Books serve as her reading material, while reports become the product of her writing."

• Variation 3: "Her intellectual pursuits encompass both the consumption of literature and the production of analytical documents."

Want to learn how to transform your writing with advanced techniques? Join our upcoming webinar and craft chat with Poet Lore.

The Symmetry of Syntax: Crafting Parallel Constructions

Objective: Master the art of parallel structure, a cornerstone of eloquent prose.

Methodology: With an assortment of disparate ideas, phrases, or clauses. Compose these elements into a cohesive statement, emphasizing syntactic parallelism. It is important to maintain grammatical congruence throughout the sentence.

Illustration:

• Given elements: "to run", "to swim", and "to cycle."

• Parallel construction: "On weekends, I find solace in running through verdant parks, swimming in crystalline lakes, and cycling along winding country roads."

Advanced challenge: Focus on the composition of complex sentences with parallel subordinate clauses.

The Alchemy of Sentence Fusion: Coordinating Conjunctions and Beyond

Objective: Enhance comprehension of coordinating conjunctions and their role in maintaining parallelism.

Exercise: Using sets of staccato sentences in pairs or small groups. Amalgamate these sentences using the FANBOYS conjunctions (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So), with a focus on preserving parallel structure.

Example:

• Initial sentences: "He possesses a towering stature." "His demeanor exudes charm." "His intellect is remarkably sharp."

• Fused result: "He possesses a towering stature, exudes charm in his demeanor, and boasts a remarkably sharp intellect."

Extension: Annotate the parallel components within their newly crafted sentences.

Paragraph Reconstruction: The Quest for Parallelism

Objective: Develop the ability to identify and rectify flaws in parallel structure within extended prose.

Methodology: Using a paragraph rife with parallelism errors. Challenge yourself, either individually or collaboratively, to revise the text, ensuring syntactic consistency and parallel construction throughout.

Sample revision:

• Original: "The project demanded meticulous planning, an abundance of patience, and we needed to maintain impeccable organization."

• Refined: "The project demanded meticulous planning, an abundance of patience, and impeccable organizational skills."

The Syntactic Spectrum: A Sentence Construction Odyssey

Objective: Foster creative writing skills through the exploration of diverse syntactic frameworks.

Process: With a taxonomy of sentence types (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex). Use a thematic prompt (e.g., the natural world, a personal anecdote, a historical event) and challenge yourself to craft one sentence of each type, demonstrating how syntactic variation can modulate meaning and impact.

Exemplar (Theme: The Ocean):

• Simple: "The ocean roars."

• Compound: "The ocean roars and the waves crash relentlessly upon the shore."

• Complex: "As the tide swells, the ocean roars with increasing ferocity."

• Compound-complex: "The ocean roars with primal force, and the waves crash relentlessly upon the shore, while seabirds wheel overhead, their cries lost in the tumult."

The Parallelism of Enumeration

Objective: Hone the skill of crafting lists with impeccable parallel structure.

Task: Generate a list of aspirations, procedures, or attributes, ensuring strict adherence to parallel construction for each item. Focus on the critical role of parallel structure in formal and academic writing contexts.

Illustration:

• Initial attempt: "My academic goals include improving my analytical skills, enhancing my public speaking, and becoming a more critical thinker."

• Refined version: "My academic goals include improving my analytical skills, enhancing my public speaking abilities, and becoming a more critical thinker."

Don’t miss our upcoming webinar and craft chat with Poet Lore.

Emulation as Elevation: The Imitative Writing Exercise

Objective: Refine syntactic prowess through the studied imitation of exemplary prose.

Methodology: With a curated selection of sentences or paragraphs renowned for their syntactic elegance and masterful parallelism. Challenge yourself to compose new texts that mirror the structural blueprint of the original while exploring novel thematic territory.

Example:

• Source (Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"): "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..."

• Emulation: "It was the zenith of scientific discovery, it was the nadir of ethical consideration, it was the era of technological marvels, it was the epoch of human alienation..."

Through these exercises, you will learn about syntactic sophistication.

Read new poems published in

The Seneca Review in Spring 2024, VOLUME 54, NO. 1

The Believer with illustrations by Hartley Lin in Fall 2024, No. 147 (Preorder Now)

2024 Events

• October 23: LitQuake at Grace Cathedral

• November 2: The LGBT Community Center, BGSQD

• November 4: KGB Monday Night Poetry Reading Series

• November 16: Volumes Bookcafe, Wicker Park, Chicago

2025 Events

• January: Poetry & Biscuits Salon, Ukrainian Village, Chicago

• February: The Filling Station, Logan Square, Chicago

• March 26-28: AWP Conference & Bookfair

• March 28-30: Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival