Exploring Writing - Gary Robert Muschla 2011

Exercise 2.3 Combining and Varying Sentences
Sentences: The Foundation of the Draft
Part 2. Writing the Draft

Study these examples:

After school Ashley did her homework. She went shopping with her mother. She went to dance practice.

These are three simple sentences. Although they are written correctly, they are flat and boring. Imagine a whole article or story written like this. Short sentences like these can be combined to make writing smoother and more interesting. See the following example:

After school Ashley did her homework, went shopping with her mother, and went to dance practice.

Here is another example:

The night sky darkened. The stars appeared and began to twinkle.

These sentences can be combined and rewritten slightly, but with the result showing a big difference:

As the night sky darkened, the stars appeared and began to twinkle.

Combining and varying sentences makes writing more interesting for readers. For additional practice, do Worksheets 2.3 and 2.4 at the end of this section.