Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021
Use a variety of sentence structures
Provide some variety
Clarity
A writer should not rely too heavily on simple sentences and compound sentences, as the effect tends to be both monotonous and choppy. (See 14b and 14c.) Too many complex or compound-complex sentences, however, can be equally monotonous. Try to achieve a mix of sentence types.
The major sentence types are illustrated in the following sentences, all taken from Flannery O’Connor’s “The King of the Birds,” an essay describing the author’s pet peafowl.
SIMPLE |
Frequently the cock combines the lifting of his tail with the raising of his voice. |
COMPOUND |
Any chicken’s dusting hole is out of place in a flower bed, but the peafowl’s hole, being the size of a small crater, is more so. |
COMPLEX |
The peacock does most of his serious strutting in the spring and summer when he has a full tail to do it with. |
COMPOUND-COMPLEX |
The cock’s plumage requires two years to attain its pattern, and for the rest of his life, this chicken will act as though he designed it himself. |
For a fuller discussion of sentence types, see 50a.