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Attempts Attempt 1 score is1.7Attempt 2 score is
Keep the Highest 2.7 out of 32.7 / 3
Attempt3 score is2.7
2.7
11. Mixing Long and Short Sentences
Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor. —William Cowper (English poet)
Imagine that you are hosting a large birthday party for your friend. You are inviting over 100 guests
from different parts of the country and the world. Would you serve only one food dish or a variety of
dishes? If possible, it would be good to have a variety of dishes so that the guests could have more
than one choice.
Variety is also an important trait of good writing. Writing without variety is uninteresting.
For sentence variety, use different sentence patterns in your writing.
The following sentences lack variety:
I like this car. It is inexpensive and efficient. I will buy this car.
To increase sentence variety, combine the first two short sentences into one longer sentence:
I like this car because it is inexpensive and efficient. I will buy this car.
Directions: Read the following paragraphs, and then answer the questions that follow.
(1) Sarah had always had a dream. (2) She had always wanted to be a teacher. (3) When she was
growing up, she had some tough times. (4) One of her teachers, Mr. Hernandez, encouraged her to
study hard and to believe in herself. (5) His support encouraged her to do well in school. (6) Sarah is
now a teacher.
Which of the following statements are true about the paragraph? Check all that apply.
Sentences 1, 2, and 4 are a variety of lengths.
Sentences 4 and 6 add sentence variety to the paragraph.
The paragraph would be more effective if sentences 3 and 4 were shorter in length.
Points:
0.67 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
"Sentences 1, 2, and 4 are a variety of lengths" is one correct answer because this paragraph contains
both short and long sentences or sentences of different lengths. "Sentences 4 and 6 add sentence
variety to the paragraph" is also correct; since the paragraph mixes short and long sentences, it has
sentence variety. If sentences three and four were shorter in length, the paragraph would have less
sentence variety and not be as effective.
(1) Sarah had always had a dream. (2) She wanted to be a teacher. (3) Sarah had tough
times. (4) She had a good teacher. (5) His name was Mr. Hernandez. (6) Mr. Hernandez encouraged
Sarah. (7) He told her to study hard. (8) He told her to believe in herself. (9) His support helped
Sarah. (10) Sarah did well in school. (11) She is now a teacher.
Which of the following statements are true about the paragraph? Check all that apply.
Sentences 1, 2, and 3 do not contain enough sentence variety.
Sentences 10 and 11 are choppy because they are the same length.
Sentences 9 and 10 add sentence variety to the paragraph.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
"Sentences 10 and 11 are choppy because they are the same length" and "Sentences 1, 2, and 3 do
not contain enough sentence variety" are the correct answers. For sentence variety, use different
sentence patterns in your writing. One way to do so is to mix long and short sentences. This paragraph
has too many short sentences, which makes it seem choppy. Since there are only short sentences, this
paragraph lacks sentence variety.
Directions: Read the three similar passages that follow, and then determine which passage has the
most variety.
Passage 1
Kylie likes to communicate by using Twitter because she can immediately send messages to her friends
whenever she likes. She used to e-mail her friends many times in a day, but she finds that Twitter is
much more instantly gratifying. For example, Kylie just sent a message, called a tweet, which says, "I
am eating lunch at Bakery 20 with Frankie and the salad is awesome."
Passage 2
Kylie likes to communicate. She used to e-mail her friends many times in a day. Now, she likes to use
Twitter. Kylie uses Twitter a lot. For example, Kylie just sent a message. A message is called a tweet.
Her tweet says, "I am eating lunch. I am eating lunch with Frankie. We are at Bakery 20. The salad is
awesome."
Passage 3
Kylie likes to communicate. She used to e-mail her friends many times in a day. Now, she likes to use
Twitter. Kylie can use Twitter to immediately send messages to her friends. When she uses Twitter,
Kylie's friends know exactly where Kylie is and what she is doing. For example, Kylie just sent a
message, called a tweet. Her tweet says, "I am eating lunch with Frankie at Bakery 20. The salad is
awesome."
Which passage has the most variety?
Passage 3
Passage 2
Passage 1
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The correct answer is "Passage 3." It has the most sentence variety because it is the only passage that
mixes short sentences and long sentences. Passage 1 has only long sentences and passage 2 has only
short sentences.
