Smart Syntax

The Rhetorical Effects ofWord Arrangement

1. Content -- What to say; which propositions to include in your sentence

2. Diction – Which words to choose

3. Syntax – How to arrange them

Three regions of choice:

“This is what I mean when I call myself a writer: I construct sentences.”

– novelist Don DeLillo

“To name is to know.”

Goals:

Know all the different categories of sentences.Identify which of all those different categories

a sentence fits into.Describe the rhetorical effects of different

kinds of sentences.Create effective sentences in all categories.

Part I: Categories of Sentences

Function (5)Structure (4)

Kernel (3)

Functions

What are the five things a sentence can do?

The Five FUNCTIONS of Sentences

• State a fact or opinion (the declarative)• Exclaim about something (the exclamatory)• Issue a command (the imperative)• Ask a question (the interrogative)• Express unreality* (the subjunctive)

*wish, emotion, possibility, judgment, opinion, necessity, or action that has not yet occurred

To try

• I tried.• I tried!• Try.• Did you try?• I would have tried harder if I had known…

When a writer uses these kinds of sentences…

• Why does she or he do so?• What effect is he or she trying to create in:– the reader’s mind?– The reader’s emotions?– The reader’s ability to trust the speaker?

Rhetorical Effects of these • a declarative sentence will avoid any special emotional impact; it can sound

dogmatic; it can also sound strong and knowledgeable

• an exclamatory sentence, used sparingly, will jolt the reader; it can sound emotionally and intellectually immature, but it can also sound ironic, humorous, angry -- impassioned

• an interrogative sentence can get the reader to think about what you are writing; it can sound condescending, or it can create a tone of questioning-with the reader / audience

• an imperative sentence can exhort the reader to act right away; it can sound inspiring, or it can sound pushy

• A subjunctive sentence indicates wonder, hope, doubt, etc.; it expresses uncertainty (may be positive or negative)

To laugh

• He laughed.• He laughed!• Did he laugh?• He would have laughed…

Structure

What are the four kinds of sentence structure you learned freshman year? (Think clauses!)

The 4 Kinds of Sentence STRUCTURES

Simple = 1 independent clause

Complex = 1 independent clause + 1 dependant clause

Compound = 2 independent clauses

Compound-Complex = 2 independent clauses + 1 or more dependent clauses

The Other 3 Categories of Structure(Placement of Kernel)

• Loose & Cumulative Sentences• Periodic Sentences• Short simple sentences

Rhetorical effect

• a long complex sentence will show what information depends on what other information;

• a compound sentence will emphasize balance and parallelism; perhaps juxtaposition of two contrary ideas

• a short simple sentence will grab a reader's attention and create emphasis; too many short sentences together can sound choppy

Loose SentencesCumulative Sentences

A loose sentence gives the main subject and predicate right up front, then adds further information. It will tell the reader in advance how to interpret your information.

A cumulative sentences adds a LOT of further information; often it is conversational or stream-of-consciousness (c.f., Kerouac) Sometimes considered “not suspenseful.” But can also create a sense of voice and immediacy – the “running style.”

• "It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it."(Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, 1939)

Periodic Sentences

The main subject and predicate don’t happen until the end.

Loose vs. PeriodicLoose: I could tell that he was disappointed by the tone of his voice and the look on his face.

Periodic: By the tone of his voice and the look on his face, I could tell that he was disappointed.

Loose: Christopher Columbus finally reached the shores of San Salvador after months of uncertainty at sea, the threat of mutiny, and a growing shortage of food and water.

Periodic: After months of uncertainty at sea, the threat of mutiny, and a growing shortage of food and water, Christopher Columbus finally reached the shores of San Salvador.

Names for Sentences• Complex• Compound• Complex-compound• Simple• Short and simple• Declarative• Interrogative• Exclamatory• Subjunctive / Hortative• Imperative• Loose• Cumulative• Periodic

Identifying Loose/ Cumulative & Periodic

Start with the Kernel

• Periodic Syntax Main subject & verb are delayed until the end.Suspensive Sentences

• Loose SyntaxMain subject & verb occur early in sentence.Cumulative Sentences

(loose syntax, that also functions suspensively)

Types of Sentence Structures

PERIODIC SENTENCESExamples

"In the almost incredibly brief time which it took the small but sturdy porter to roll a milk-can across the platform and bump it, with a clang, against other milk-cans similarly treated a moment before, she fell in love."(P.G. Wodehouse, Something Fresh, 1915)

P.G. Wodehouse

"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."(The King James Bible, I Corinthians 13)

St. Paul

YOU

LOOSE SENTENCES

"The intense happiness of our union is derived… in a high degree from the perfect freedom with which we each follow and declare our own impressions."(George Eliot, letter of Nov. 13, 1860)

George Eliot

Education has no equal in opening minds, instilling values, and creating opportunities.

"The reserve of modern assertions is sometimes pushed to extremes, in which the fear of being contradicted leads the writer to strip himself of almost all sense and meaning."(Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. Cassell, 1958)

Winston Churchill

Classify these sentences:Brent Staples, p. 115 -- 1st 2 sentencesNancy Mairs, p. 220 – last sentence of 1st PRichard Rodriguez, p. 224 – 1st sentenceKing, p. 344 – P16, P 17, P18, P23

How many propositions are in each sentence?

40 Model Essays

Your example here:

Creative Sentence Play

Developing STYLE

A proposition is a statement about reality that can be affirmed or denied.

Propositions are sentences about one thing.

But sentences can have, or assume or imply, MANY different propositions.

Maximize propositions in a sentence, while minimizing words.

Phrases will help you, subordinate clauses will help you, precise word choices will help you…

Goal:

I think it’s a good idea to eat breakfast. Breakfast is healthy. It keeps me from being hungry later in the day. I’ve also heard it revs up the metabolism. I like to eat eggs for breakfast. They don’t taste very good to me. But I really like how the combination of fat and protein really stays with me.

Example 17 short, propositional statements

I try to eat eggs every morning because, although I don’t really like the taste of eggs or the feeling of putting something into my stomach early in the morning, I know that breakfast boosts my metabolism; besides, the combination of protein and fat in the eggs keeps me from feeling hungry through the day.

1 Sentence

She likes how her room feels. The colors are soothing. She likes the creams and browns. They are very light. It feels cool in here. She likes the big windows. She can see lots of trees and sky. She likes how the sunlight comes in through the windows in the afternoons.

Example 2Group of 8 propositions

The coolness of the place, the light creams and browns on the walls and floor and ceiling, and the sunlight streaming through the large windows along the back wall that looked out onto the green of trees and the blue of sky spread out beyond the big windows all made her love that room.

1 Sentence

1. Make a list of at least 5 propositions about something...

2. Convert that list of propositions into one sentence. Choose whether you want to make it loose or periodic.

Your example!

Create a loose sentence.

• Example:I woke up this morning before the sun was up,

bracing myself for the day.

Make it cumulative.

• I woke up this morning before the sun was up and got dressed and walked the dog and washed my hair and drank some coffee and then I drank some more coffee, bracing myself for the day.

Now make it periodic.

• Having gotten up before the sun was up and gotten dressed, walked the dog, washed my hair and swallowed two cups of burnt coffee, I braced my soul to face the day.

Now chop it up, and end it with a short simple sentence.

• I woke up this morning before the sun was up. I got dressed, walked the dog, washed my hair, drank some coffee, drank some more coffee. And then dawn broke.

Part IV: Form & Content

Seeing How Style Creates Meaning

Convey informationGive pleasure

- tease- surprise- test- satisfy

Purposes of Sentences

The style – form – of a sentence, in some measure, IS the content of the sentence.

Style helps create meaning.

Form \ Content

FINIS.