Syntax The author’s grammatical sentence structure Deals with word order, punctuation, sentence length & sentence focus Controls pacing and also focus

Patterns Usually, sentence follow a subject/verb/complement or object pattern: I am tired. (subject/verb/complement) Sometimes, authors deviate from expected word order to draw attention: Am I ever sorry! (subject/verb inverted) Hungry, he certainly is. (complement @ the beginning) Sara I like—not susan. (object in front of the verb) See how a different order can change what we focus on in the sentence?

Sentence length: short (another word for this type of sentence is ‘telegraphic,’ if the sentence is super short—less than 5 words) Ask: Is the author highlighting an important idea? Is the author aiming for objectivity or a factual tone? Is the author trying to convey anxiety or increase the narrative pace? . . . All of those things are potential effects of short sentences!

Sentence length: long Ask: Is the author attempting to develop an idea in depth? Is the author trying to slow down the pace of the text? . . . Both of those things are potential effects of long sentences!

Periodic vs. loose sentence Periodic sentence: high tension, delays closure because key information that conveys meaning comes at the end. As long as we ignore our children and refuse to dedicate the necessary time and money to their care, we will fail to solve the problem of school violence. Loose sentence: relieve tension, more straightforward We will fail to solve the problem of school violence as long as we ignore our children and refuse to dedicate the necessary time and money to their care.

Parallelism and repetition It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. = parallelism (and antithesis) She was gone, gone, gone as soon as the bell rang. = repetition Ask: Is the author attempting show that ideas are equal? Is the author stressing an important point? Is the author attempting to create rhythm? Is the author emphasizing contrast (if the two parallel elements are opposites, or the antithesis of one another) . . . All of those things are potential effects of parallelism and repetition!

Sentence types & what they do Declarative assertive – a statement Imperative              authoritative - command Interrogative        poses a question (?)* Exclamatory expresses emotion (!) *Rhetorical questions, which are questions whose answer is so obvious as to not necessitate a response, are especially important. The question is always asked for an effect here.

Punctuation marks & what they do Ellipses                              a trailing off; going off into a dreamlike state Dash                                 interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another Semicolon                        parallel ideas; equal ideas; a piling up of details Colon                              (after it comes) a list; a definition or explanation; a result Italics                               for emphasis Capitalization                  for emphasis; to personify Exclamation Point           for emphasis; for emotion

Important note! Not every passage’s syntax is worth analyzing. All passages are composed of sentences, and the temptation is to break up each one and find some hidden meaning in the syntax…ask yourself if the sentences contribute in some way to the author’s ideas and/or purpose. If they don’t, don’t bother with syntax. If the syntax is unusual and seems to have some bearing on meaning, have at it!