1. Sentence Skills: A Workbook for Writers, Form A John Langan
Sentence Variety II
Sentence Skills: A Workbook for Writers, Form A John Langan

2. Vary Your Sentences 1: Adding an -ing word group to a sentence
Effective writing is writing that is varied and interesting.
Vary your sentences by:
1: Adding an -ing word group to a sentence
Ex. “The defendant, waiting for the verdict, took a deep breath.”
2: Adding an -ed word group
Ex. “Timmy, frightened by the sound, began to cry loudly.”
3: Using a -ly word to open a sentence
Ex. “Carefully, Oscar poured the flour into the bowl.”
4: Using a -to word group to open a sentence
Ex. “To get ahead in business, you need to work hard.”
5: Using a prepositional phrase to open a sentence
Ex. “After he said that, I could never trust him again.”

3. Series of Items
You can also vary your sentences by including series of words:
Series of adjectives.
Ex: The rainy, cold night made it difficult to see the old, winding road through the forest.
Ex: This beautiful, funny poem is about a lonely young man’s search for love.
Series of verbs.
Ex: Odysseus travelled the world, fought with monsters, returned to his kingdom, and reclaimed his throne.

4. Vary Your Sentences
Variety in your writing is as important as clarity and quality of thought. You should strive to make your writing informative and interesting, accurate and engaging. Sentence variety is a key to accomplishing this!