Thursday, November 15th Topic: Sentence Fluency Level: Identify & Apply

Agenda:

• Quick Write

• C-Notes

• Dancing the Fluency Dance

Assessments/Assignments:

Quick Write

Book Wars – White Handout

Homework: TBD

Topic: Sentence FluencyEQ: What is sentence fluency?

Sentence fluency gives a piece a sense of rhythm and grace.

It is achieved through:

Logic

Creative phrasing

Absence of redundancy

A variety of sentence types and lengths

Can you read the piece quickly and get the main idea?

Problem 1: Short, choppy, bite-sized sentences

We went to the beach. We had fun. We saw seagulls.

Vary beginning and combine sentences:

Despite being overrun by pesky seagulls, we had fun at the beach.

Problem 2: All sentences begin the same way-boring!

In your notes, re-write the following sentence in as many ways as you can in 3 minutes. Do not change the meaning of the sentence.

“You have to be clever to survive school.”

Sentence fluency AVOIDS repetition and stating of the obvious.

Cutting the Fat!

The stadium has ample parking space for fans’ automobiles.

The stadium has ample parking space.

TransitionsA transition word directly tells the reader thelogical relationship between one idea andanother idea.

Idea Idea

Transition

TransitionsLook at the two groups of sentences below.

Which sentences read more smoothly?

• My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic. He has won a scholarship to play football at a university next year.

• My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic. In fact, he has won a scholarship to play football at a university next year.

Transitions

What are transition words?

TransitionsTransitions are words that help makeyour writing more coherent. They createconnections between:

- one clause and another clause

- one sentence and another sentence

- one group of sentences and the next group of sentences

Connecting Two Sentences You can use a transition and comma to tell the

reader the logical relationship between two sentences.

Marcos is very athletic. he plays three sports at school.

In fact,

Marcos is very athletic. In fact, he plays three sports at school.

Placement of Transition Rather than placing the transition at the

beginning of the second sentence, you may place it in the middle of the second sentence after the subject with two commas.

Marcos is very athletic.

He, in fact, plays three sports at school.

subject

transition

Transitions in Longer Writing

When writing a paragraph or a larger piece of writing, you can use a transition to show the reader the logical relationship between one group of sentences and another group of sentences.

This is useful when you want to let the reader know that you are changing from one idea to another idea.

Example- Longer Piece of Writing

Essay Introduction

Body Paragraph 1

Body Paragraph 2: In addition,

Body Paragraph 3: Furthermore,

Conclusion:

Transition connects ideas in paragraph 3 to ideas in paragraph 2.

Transition connects ideas in paragraph 2 to ideas in paragraph 1.

Types of Transitions

Relationship TransitionAddition Moreover

FurthermoreIn additionbesides

Marcos loves to ski

;moreover,

;furthermore,

;in addition,

;besides,

he likes to fish.

Types of Transitions

Relationship TransitionExemplification For example

For instanceIn particular

Marcos enjoys outdoor sports

;for example,

;for instance,

;in particular,

he likes hiking, skiing, and fishing.

The second clause is more specific than the first.

Types of TransitionsRelationship Transition

Result or Effect Consequently AccordinglyThus HenceTherefore As a result

Marcos broke his leg

;thus,

;consequently,

;therefore,

;hence,

;as a result,

;accordingly,

he can’t play basketball.

Types of Transitions

Relationship TransitionReinforcement/Emphasis Indeed

In fact

Marcos plays basketball

;in fact,

;indeed,

he plays every Saturday.

The transition and second clause reemphasize the first clause.

One day there was a seven year old boy called Will. He loved to write. In his life he has made ten great books. They read them every day in school. But there was a kid who hated Will. He was called Eric. He decided to make bigger stories than Will, using 14 pages of his draft book. Now that for Will was a problem. So, to get things back to normal he used whole draft books. The war began. Will used 5 draft books. Eric used 10. Will used so many because he was behind that he used 100 draft books. Eric only used 20 draft books. Will patted Eric on the shoulder and said Eric I wish we were friends. The war stopped. They became friends.

Re-write this story.

Combine sentences

Cut the fat

Insert transitions