1. Loose and Periodic Sentences

2. Basic Sentence
Abraham Lincoln wept.
SUBJECT VERB

3. Loose Sentence
A basic sentence with the details added immediately at the end of the basic sentence
Abraham Lincoln wept, fearing that the Union would not survive if the southern states seceded.

4. Periodic Sentence
A sentence in which additional details are placed in ONE of TWO positions:
BEFORE the basic sentence
Alone in his study, lost in somber thoughts about his beloved country, dejected but not broken in spirit, Abraham Lincoln wept.

5. Periodic Sentence
A sentence in which additional details are placed in ONE of TWO positions:
In the MIDDLE of the basic sentence
Abraham Lincoln, alone in his study, lost in somber thoughts about his beloved country, dejected but not broken in spirit, wept.

6. The Purpose of Loose and Periodic Sentences
The emphasis in each sentence is different
Allows for variation in sentence structures
Allows for the writer to control the pacing of the text on the reader:
Loose sentences move quickly
Periodic sentences work with delay.

7. Practice
Do you think the following sentence from Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery is loose or periodic?
“In order to defend and protect the women and children who were left on the plantation when the white males went to war, the slaves would lay down their lives.”

8. Practice
“The slaves would lay down their lives in order to defend and protect the women and children who were left on the plantation when the white males went to war, the slaves would lay down their lives.”