SENTENCE COMBINING This exercise will introduce you to sentence combining--that is, organizing sets of short, choppy sentences into longer, more effective ones. However, the goal of sentence combining is not to produce longer sentences but rather to develop more effective sentences--and to help you become a more versatile writer.

SENTENCE COMBINING Sentence combining calls on you to experiment with different methods of putting words together. Because there are countless ways to build sentences, your goal is not to find the one "correct" combination but to consider different arrangements before you decide which one is the most effective.

An Example of Sentence Combining Let's consider an example. Start by looking at this list of eight short (and repetitive) sentences: She was our Latin teacher. We were in high school. She was tiny. She was a birdlike woman. She was swarthy. She had dark eyes. Her eyes were sparkling. Her hair was graying.

An Example of Sentence Combining (cont…) Our Latin teacher in high school was a tiny woman. She was swarthy and birdlike. She had dark, sparkling eyes and graying hair. When we were in high school, our Latin teacher was a tiny woman. She was swarthy and birdlike, with dark, sparkling eyes and graying hair.

An Example of Sentence Combining (cont…) Our high school Latin teacher was a swarthy, birdlike woman. She was tiny, with dark, sparkling eyes and graying hair. Our Latin teacher in high school was a birdlike woman, tiny and swarthy, with graying hair and dark, sparkling eyes.

SENTENCE COMBINING Combine the sentences in each set into a single clear sentence containing at least one adjective or adverb (or both). Omit words that are needlessly repeated, but don't leave out any important details.

An Example of Sentence Combining 1. The man handed me a photograph of a child. He did this silently. The man was old. The child was beautiful. 2. The man handed me a photograph of a child. The photograph was torn. The photograph was faded. The child was little.

3. The photograph brought back memories. The memories were brought back instantly. The memories were fine. The memories were old. 4. The photograph of the child brought back memories. The memories were brought back instantly. The child was beautiful. The child was little. The photograph was torn. The photograph was faded. The memories were fine. The memories were old.

SAMPLE COMBINATIONS 1.Silently, the old man handed me a photograph of a beautiful child. 2.The man handed me a torn and faded photograph of a little child. 3.The photograph instantly brought back fine old memories. 4.The torn and faded photograph of a beautiful little child instantly brought back fine old memories.

Combine the sentences 1. We traveled this summer. We traveled by train. We traveled from Behbahan. We traveled to Dehloran. 2. A man stood, looking down. He stood upon a railroad bridge. The bridge was in northern Veresk. He was looking down into the water. The water was twenty feet below. The water was swift.

SAMPLE COMBINATIONS 1.This summer we traveled by train from Behbahan to Dehloran. 2.A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Veresk, looking down into the swift waters twenty feet below.