Developing sentence skills: Lesson one

1. Avoid writing a long complex sentence
Example:
Because many minor revisions were still required in the second draft of the document, contact with individual committee members was made by phone or letter, as the committee had been dissolved by the board and was soon to be replaced by an entirely new committee made up of members from a different department within the university.
Task: There are some problems with the above sentence. Some ideas are far from clear. Rewrite the above sentence. You can divide it into two or three sentences.

2. Reasons for using a semicolon to join two main clauses
a) The ideas in the two main clauses are closely related.
b) A semicolon is superior to a full stop because it tells the reader to make a half stop. Too many full stops within a paragraph lead to choppiness.
c) You don't want to overuse conjunctions.
Examples:
a) Amy planned a special birthday party for Simon; the big event was a great success.
b) The new car was expensive; as a result, I am now making large payments.
Task: Construct a compound sentence. Use a semicolon to join the clauses together.

3. Avoid run-on sentence and comma splice
A run-on sentence:
The man bought a car his wife didn't know about it.
A comma splice:
The man bought a car, his wife didn't know about it.
A transition is not enough to separate these two clauses, either, even with a comma.
NOT- The man bought a car, however, his wife didn't know about it.
You need a full stop or a semicolon after the word 'car'.
CORRECT- The man bought a car; his wife didn't know about it.
OR- The man bought a car; however, his wife didn't know about it.
OR- The man bought a car. His wife didn't know about it.

4. Coordination & punctuation
Task- Punctuate the following sentences. If no punctuation is needed, write none.
1. The old car that I drive had been wrecked and the previous owner sold it for a good price.
2. The car is noisy when I first start it but it quiets down when the engine gets warmed up.
3. Amy planned a birthday party for Simon she invited nearly sixty guests.
4. We sifted the flour for the angel food cake and measured it in our new plastic measuring cups.
5. The taxpayer with a late return may say that he's out of money or he may claim that his accountant made an error.
6. The taxpayer with a late return may say that she forgot to mail the return or neglected to take money from her savings.

5. The expansion of sentences
Sentence 1- Amy met Simon.
We can use an adverb phrase to add more information to the previous sentence.
Sentence 2- Amy met Simon at the airport (at the airport= adverb phrase).
We can use an adjective clause to describe the subject.
Sentence 3- Amy, who was in the red dress, met her husband at the airport (who was in the red dress= adjective clause).
We can write a long complex sentence.
Sentence 4- The young lady over there in the red dress who is speaking to her friend met that old gentleman from our club whom we always see at the annual dinner.
Task- Is sentence 4 too difficult for your readers?