Sentence Structure
It is a common flaw in writing to have nothing but subject-first sentence structure throughout an entire piece, or to have several sentences begin with the same word, usually a personal pronoun.
An example of a paragraph with only subject-first sentences:
He tentatively entered the school for the first time. The students, rushing to their classrooms, paid no attention to him. His friends were no where to be seen. He wondered where they could be.
This can become monotonous, which is one reason it is important to vary sentence structure. However, in some cases this type of repetition can be useful [see:
Anaphora]
Example of how a sentence can be varied:
Subject first sentence;
John Smith, son of an English writer, was working on his first novel in his brother's study at fourteen.
Subject modifier first;
Son of an English writer ......
Predicate modifier first;
At fourteen, ..... or, In his brother's study ......
Another reason it is important to vary sentence structure is that it can be an effective method of placing subtle emphasis on certain words or phrases, while downplaying others. For example, the beginning and ending of stories are usually the most vividly remembered. In a paragraph, it is often viewed that the first and last sentences are the most important. The same philosophy can be applied to sentences.
Using the above examples: in the subject-first sentence, the focus is on the subject’s name [John Smith] and his age [fourteen]; in the subject-modifier first example, the focus is on the fact that he is the son of and English writer, and similarly with the predicate-modifier first sentence, the emphasis is on his age, or on the his location [in his brother’s study].
