Writers choose and build different types of sentences carefully. There are three main types of sentence structure - simple close simple sentenceA sentence containing one clause made up of a subject ...

The best way to write a perfect sentence is to lower your standards. I hope that advice doesn’t come across as some bait and switch, that there is no such thing as a perfect sentence. I do believe in ...

Stanley Fish says, "Some appreciate fine art; others appreciate fine wines. I appreciate fine sentences." I love the sound of that. And chances are if you love language you'll find something ...

Use adverbs sparingly. At their best, they spice up a verb or adjective. At their worst, they express a meaning already contained in the sentence: The blast completely destroyed the church office. The ...

In the previous chapters we discussed two basic rules for parallel construction, namely: a sentence that presents two or more serial elements should stick to the same pattern all throughout; and that ...

I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t mean to kill him. Which one of these did I mean? This is a fallacy that goes all ...

Two-thirds of the way through Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, I abandoned my sharpened reviewer's pencil in favor of luxuriating in the words. Chee's writing has a mesmerizing ...