Monday, August 23, 2010

Where can I find online advice on writing great sentences that flow well?

I ran across a set of DVD's advertised with the text below. The DVD's sounded like something I had long been seeking, but the reviews weren't great. Can you recommend specific web pages that provide similar guidance on writing great sentences?





';Understanding the variety of ways to construct sentences, from the smallest clause to the longest sentence, is important to enhancing your appreciation of great writing and potentially improving your own.





* Why do some lengthy sentences flow effortlessly while others stumble along?


* Why are you captivated by the writing of particular authors but not others?


* How can you craft sentences that reflect your own unique outlook on the world?





Get the answers to these and other questions about writing and style in Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft, a lively 24-lecture course taught by Professor Brooks Landon from the University of Iowa鈥攐ne of the nation's top writing schools. You explore the myriad ways in which we think about, talk about, and write sentences. You discover insights into what makes for pleasurable reading. You also learn how you can apply these methods to your own writing.';Where can I find online advice on writing great sentences that flow well?
Hi, Benson, it is great you aspire to improve your writing.





Writing effectively helps convey intelligence, helps to reinforce the argument in one's prose, whilst preventing ambiguities.





Unfortunately, I have never found the perfect book or site which encompases everything needed to become a good writer.





However, from personal experience, I can tell you the types of things you need to learn.





If you search on google for the following terms, you will find an array of free sites that explain them clearly, some, which are better than others.





Here are some keys terms that you can type into a search engine:





Parts Of Speech (8 of them)





Clause


Independent clause


Dependent clause


Adverbal Clause


Noun Clause


Adjective Clause (Relative Clause)


Complement Clause





Phrase


Noun Phrase


Adjective Phrase


Verb Phrase


Absolute Phrase


Appositive Phrase





Free Modifiers (there are 17 of them)


Resumptive Modifiers


Summative Modifiers





Verbals


Participles


Greunds


To Infinitives








Comma Rules


Semicolon Rules


Colon Rules


Appostrophe Rules











These are some of the key terms that you need to learn. When searching for these terms, you will find great sites that explain these terms and will provide you with terms you are not aware of, which you can then type into a search engine, providing a continuous flow of new terms to learn.





Grammar.ccc is a good site for this


Owl.English Purdue is another great one


Hyper English Grammar


Strunk and White's book ';Elements of Style';








Remember not to neglect punctuation, such as the comma rules. Additionally, learning clause types and phrase types enable you to analyse sentences, which is very important to know when punctuating a sentence correctly.





If you begin your learning and come across an obstacle, I'm more than happy to answer your questions through email.





I wish you the best of luck.

No comments:

Post a Comment