For a piece of writing to be effective, it must be clear and easy to understand. But for a piece of writing to be excellent, it must also be interesting and even entertaining. Whether you are writing for an academic, business, or personal reason, the more interesting your writing is, the more likely it is that the reader will give it their full attention. In writing, we call this style.
There are many ways to improve the style of your writing, but this lesson focuses on sentence variation. There are three different ways you can vary, or change up, your sentences.
Sentence Types
As you learned in Writing Skills 3-1, there are four different types of sentences. You should use all four in your writing. Consider the following passage.
Busan, Korea is a port city. It is in the southeast of Korea. It has a population of around 3.5 million. It is the second biggest city in Korea. Busan has a very large economy. It has the sixth busiest port in the world. It is also a very high-tech city with many developed industries. There is also a rich culture in Busan. Every year, there is a major film festival there. It is the largest film festival in all of Asia. Many people from Korea and around the world visit Busan every year. They come to experience Busan’s culture. Busan has unique food and attractions. One of the biggest attractions is Haeundae Beach. It is one of the most beautiful and busiest beaches in the world.
How did it read? Was it interesting? You probably noticed that every sentence was a simple sentence. This makes it easy to read and understand, but it also makes it quite boring and repetitive for the reader.
Compare it to this revised passage:
Busan is a port city which is in the southeast of Korea. It has a population of around 3.5 million, and it is the second biggest city in Korea. Because Busan has the sixth busiest port in the world, and it is a very high-tech city with many developed industries, Busan has a very large economy. There is also a rich culture in Busan; for example, every year there is a major film festival, which is the largest in all of Asia. Many people from Korea and around the world visit Busan every year to experience the city's unique culture, food, and attractions. Haeundae Beach is one of the most beautiful and busiest beaches in the world, so it is one of the most popular spots among visitors to Busan.
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