Writing Tips #13: Sentence Structure Part 1: Simple, Compound, and Complex.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Writing Tips! Apologies for the hiatus (I got a little ambitious with Camp NaNoWriMo). But we’re back for the month of May, and today we’ll be focusing on sentence structure. Again, we’ll need multiple lessons to give this topic in the depth it deserves, so today we’ll just be looking at the basics.
There are a few main categories of sentence structure: simple, compound, and complex. Varying your sentence structure can add variety and rhythm to an otherwise clunky paragraph, as well as allow you to expand on and add nuance to ideas. Let’s look at each type individually:
Simple Sentences: Simple sentences are the most basic of the three. They are used to convey a single complete thought, without any coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. Here are some examples:
a.) You stole a cat.
b.) He walked through the graveyard.
c.) They stabbed the guardsmen.
The simplest of simple sentences contain only a subject and a verb. These can be effective when used sparingly, but be aware that in most situations, these are a little too bare-bones. Examples:
d.) They ran.
e.) She wept.
f.) You jumped.
Do not underestimate the simple sentence. Some writers avoid simple sentences because they feel too straightforward/unornamented, but using them can help limit the amount of extraneous detail in your sentences, which makes for stronger writing. Simple sentences can even be used for emphasis, as we see in the opening chapter of N.K Jemisin’s The Fifth Season:
This is what you must remember: the ending of one story is just the beginning of another. This has happened before, after all. People die. Old orders pass. New societies are born. When we say “the world has ended,” it’s usually a lie, because the planet it just fine.
But this is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
For the last time.
Part of what makes this passage so effective is its use of simple sentences (although there are a few more intricate sentences in there, for variety). These straightforward statements build upon one another, creating an almost percussive rhythm, which reaches a crescendo as we reach a critical statement: This is the way the world ends.
Compound Sentences: Compound sentences are basically two simple sentences mashed together by a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Compound sentences join two independent clauses, but unlike with complex sentences (see below), the relationship between each clause can sometimes be ambiguous. Let’s expand on those simple sentences from before for our examples:
g.) You stole a cat, so the owner chased after you with a pitchfork.
h.) He walked through the graveyard, but his girlfriend never arrived.
i.) They stabbed the guardsmen, and the Pumpkin Queen ate cake.
These are all viable compound sentences. However, the observant among you will have noticed that that last example was somewhat odd. The two clauses don’t seem to be connected in any meaningful way, which makes the sentence lose some cohesion. It feels clumsy and awkward, and without additional context, we cannot glean the relationship between the two statements contained within.
Compound sentences do not require a relationship between the independent clauses--any pair of independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction qualifies as a compound sentence--but generally speaking, if there’s no relationship between the two statements presented in your sentence, you probably shouldn’t be putting those statements into the same sentence to begin with.
Of the three categories listed here, compound sentences are the most overused. Often, it’s better to split these up into simple sentences or revise them to make each clause’s relationship to one another more explicit. Which brings us to . . .
Complex Sentences: Complex sentences use subordinating conjunctions (after, because, although, when, while, etc) to join an independent clause and a dependent clause. This type of sentence tends to have more nuance than the other two types, and is a staple of good writing. Here are some examples:
j.) After sneaking into an old woman’s house, you stole a cat.
k.) Because his girlfriend never arrived, he walked through the graveyard alone.
l.) They stabbed the guardsmen while the Pumpkin Queen laughed and ate cake.
Complex sentences allow you to make the relationship between two clauses more explicit, which in turn adds clarity and specificity to your writing. That said, don’t feel like you have to make every sentence into a complex sentence. Just as you wouldn’t enjoy a song that relies solely on one chord, readers won’t enjoy a story that only makes use of one type of sentence.
Thanks again for reading, and I hope you’ve found this post helpful. If you have any questions or comments, let me know: I may even make an entire lesson out of it. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the next one.
