An important concept of chapter four in the text (Terryberry, 2005) is avoiding sentence monotony. The text demonstrated how sentences with the same grammatical structure make the paper difficult to read and makes the writer sound uneducated. It is easy to see how a monotonous writing style can appear boring. It does not descriptively engage the audience, nor does it allow the flow of the paper to be smooth. Writing in this kind of style often loses the reader’s attention because it is choppy, inconclusive, and too much information in a list form. Thus, when writing, it is important to remember that the paper is written for the benefit of the reader.

            The text provided key solutions to monotonous writing. One of these solutions was to implement sentence variation techniques. When implementing these techniques, it is important to always think of the effect on the readers. Thus, there are different ways to vary the sentences. One way is to insert short sentences into a mix of longer sentences. By doing this, the writer will draw attention to the short sentences since they stand out. This is where it is important to create emphasis. Because the short sentences stand out, they need to be the most impacting.

            Another way to avoid sentence monotony is to use phrases. The addition of phrases provides meaning and substance to the sentences. There are five main types of phrases that can be used. The prepositional phrase which shows relationship, the appositive phrase which renames the noun it modifies, the gerund phrase that functions as a noun, the participial phrase that acts as an adjective, and the infinitive phrase. With the addition of these phrases, the sentences become the variety that is necessary for professional writing.

            As well as using phrases, there are also four types of sentences that can be used to avoid sentence monotony. By using simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences, writers will incorporate different sentence structures into their papers and will successfully achieve the variation that readers favor. In order to engage one’s readers, it is very important to have variation. No one desires to read a paper that is repetitive, choppy, overwhelming, or incomprehensible. Thus, this chapter reveals the importance of understanding how to avoid monotony and ways to improve one’s work if monotony is involved.

            This chapter of the text proves beneficial to my writing technique. As with many inexperienced writers, sentence structure is often overlooked and left as is. For example, in many of my papers I notice where I have many long sentences in a paragraph and no short sentences to emphasize my purpose. Thus, if I were to simply incorporate these short sentences, the variation of my paper would change tremendously and improve the flow to my audience. Also, if I were to tweak my sentences with the addition of different phrases, my sentences will achieve greater variation that will help keep the reader’s attention. Understanding these concepts are important for any kind of writer.

References

Terryberry, K. (2005). Writing for the health professions. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage

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