Sentence Structure

In sentence structure its is not enough to simply explain meaning. You need to memorise the list of structural techniques and look for them in the passage:

1. Punctuation and lists2. Sentence length3. Use of climax or anti climax4. Repetition5. Word order.

REMEMBER

A sentence structure answer must identify a technique and comment on

the effect it creates

PunctuationTo be successful in this type of question you have to be

able to identify and explain: Colon : used to introduce a list or an

explanationSemi-colon ; separate items in a complex

list or introduces a balancing point

Dash – add information/explanation ( )

Parenthesis , , - -

Add additional information (an aside which is not necessary

for the sentence to make senseExclamation mark ! Effects the tone of a sentence

Inverted commas “ ” a quotation/words used by someone else – may doubt/question

Question ?

To involve the reader/ make them thinkTo show writer is

unsure/confused/disbelievingSo the author can then go on and

answer the question

Sample questionThe panel divided into two teams. One offered a number of alternatives. These included: a ‘Landscape of Thorns’- a square of randomly-spaced 80ft spikes which jut out of the ground at different angles; ‘Menacing Earthworks’- giant mounds surrounding a 200 ft map of the world displaying all the planet’s nuclear waste dumps; a ‘black hole’- a huge slab of black concrete that absorbs so much solar heat that it is impossible to approach.

Question: Show how the punctuation of the sentence beginning ‘These included:’ is particularly helpful in following the argument at this stage.

Answer:

• The colon after ‘included’ shows that there are several solutions coming up.

• The semi-colon divides the three solutions whilst the inverted commas highlight the names of the solutions.

• The dash after each name introduces an explanation of each solution.

Try these:1. Some argue that the ultimate result of global warming will

be a paradoxical but even more catastrophic development: global cooling.

Q: Show how the punctuation clarifies the argument. 2. Governments may stop pointing the finger and

instead join hands; industries may slash short term profit to permit long term survival.

Q. Show how the punctuation clarifies the argument. 3. Campaigners for drastic cuts in emissions fear that talk of

‘adapting’ rather than ‘mitigating’ will ease political pressure on big polluters such as the US and Japan.

Q. Show how the punctuation helps your understanding.

ANSWERS

1. The colon introduces the most important point of the sentence: ‘Global cooling’. Placing it at the end of the sentence emphasises that it is the most important point.

2. The semi-colon introduces a balancing point as the first half of the sentence says that Governments might come to their senses and the second half suggests that companies might do the same.

3. Inverted commas are used to suggest that there is something doubtful about the substitution of ‘adapting’, which is weaker than ‘mitigating’- the inverted commas highlight the doubt felt by the author about these terms making the reader suspicious of what is happening.

The Scottish race has been variously and plentifully accused of being dour, mean, sly, narrow, slothful, sluttish, nasty, dirty, immoderately drunken, embarrassingly sentimental, masterfully hypocritical, and a blueprint for disaster when eleven of them are together on a football field.

Q. Comment on the structure and effect of this sentence. (2)

Lots of commas are used to create a list = 0 marks!

2 marks : A long list of the faults of Scots makes their faults seem endless, as if there were no hope of redeeming features.

What overwhelms you about this man (Muhammad Ali) from such a violent trade are the goodness, sincerity and generosity that have survived a lifetime of controversy, racial hatred, fundamental religious conversion, criminal financial exploitation, marital upheavals, revilement by many of his own nation and, eventually, the collapse of his own body.

Q. Show how the writer uses sentence structure to enlist your sympathy for Muhammed Ali. (2)

Answer

The list of all the adversities which Muhammed Ali had to face impresses on you what a mountain of difficulties there was piled up against him, so that you sympathise with his situation.

• Identify the feature of sentence structure• Say what effect it creates

Sentence Length

Sentence length

Easy to spot…more difficult to accurately comment on.

Saying a long sentence is used= 0 marks!

Remember

• Short Sentence

Used for IMPACT or to sum up a point.

• Long Sentence

Used for listing or to show a train of thought.

Example Question:I used that bat the entire summer and a magical season it was. Once, I won a game in the last at-bat with a home run, and the boys just crowded around me as if I were a spectacle to behold, as if I were, for one small moment, in this insignificant part of the world, playing this meaningless game, their majestic golden prince.

But, the bat broke. Some kid used it without my permission. He hit a foul ball and the bat split, the barrel flying away, the splintered handle still in the kid’s hands.

Q. Show how the sentence structure emphasises the impact of the destruction of his bat. (2)

Answer

The short sentence ‘But the bat broke’ is a dramatic sentence which puts an end to the glory which has been built up surrounding the bat in the previous paragraph. It marks the suddenness of the event which shocks the reader.

Sentence LengthShort sentences almost always

provide dramatic effects and sometimes provide a climax or anti-climax.

Long sentence may be used to show;• Something lasted a long time:

journey, exam, speech etc• Something complicated or complex

Climax/ Anti-climax

Climax: a dramatic high point

Anti-climax: a let down after excitement and tension has been built up.

Example Question

The Scottish race has been variously and plentifully accused of being dour, mean, sly, narrow, slothful, sluttish, nasty, dirty, immoderately drunken, embarrassingly sentimental, masterfully hypocritical, and a blueprint for disaster when eleven of them are together on a football field.

Q. Comment on the structure and effect of this sentence. (2)

2 marks: the length of the list makes it seem as if the list is interminable. The list builds up to a humorous climax by finishing with a comment about Scottish football.

2 marks: the climax is even more emphasised because as the list progresses, the items get longer, ‘dour’, ‘mean’ becomes ‘embarrassingly sentimental’ until you reach the longest item. The whole structure suggests it is building it is building towards something really important when in fact it ends with a humorous anti-climax.

Try this:

But then, like the cavalry regrouping, they set off once more, ground their way back up to speed, beat a path through the final verse and ended again, Simon’s final flourish sounding a little more sheepish this time. After that, they were gone. And no encores.

Q. Show how the sentence structure emphasises the failings of the band.

Answer

The two short sentences at the end act as an anticlimax producing a sudden flat feeling after the excitement and panic of the previous sentence, putting a definite end to the performance.

Word orderWord order

The order words come in a sentence change the effect of the sentence.

Standard word order is

Subject verb more info

Jack ate a sickening amount of cake.

The girl danced with great enthusiasm.

Word orderWord order

Changing the order of the words changes the impact:

With great enthusiasm the girl danced.

Placing words at the beginning of the sentence draws attention to them.

Similarly, placing a word at the end can also increase the impact (as you saw with climax/anti-climax) or effect emphasis:

The chief coach was a strong disciplinarian with his players but fierce in the protection of his team.

The chief coach was a strong disciplinarian with his players but, in the protection of his team, fierce.

Try these:

1. Deluges, droughts, fires, landslides, avalanches, gales, tornadoes: is it just our imagination, or is Europe’s weather getting worse?

INT 1 Q. What is the effect of the rhetorical question?INT 1 Q. Name one other feature of sentence structure in

this sentence.INT 2 Q. What is the effect of this sentence as an opening

to the passage? Explain your answer fully.

2. Reducing greenhouse gases still won’t be enough to prevent severe changes to the world’s weather. The scientists’ advice to Governments, business and private citizens about this is grim: get used to it.

INT 1 Q. Explain the use of the semi-colon in the last sentence.

INT 2 Q. How does the structure of the last sentence highlight the seriousness of the situation?

Task: A Guide to Sentence Structure

A new student joins the class and you have been asked to help them catch up.

• Using your notes, write a guide to answering sentence structure questions.

You must include• What to look for in Punctuation,

Sentence Length and Word Order.• Give examples of things you might find

in each and how to explain them.