Sentence Imitations

Sentence Imitations are exercises in which an original sentence is given and then you, the student, imitate the syntax (structure) of the original with your own material. The goal of this exercise is designed for a twofold purpose: to make you aware of the complexity and variety of sentences, and to apply to your own writing this very diversity. While this is similar to passage copying, it is both harder and equally rewarding.

Follow the sentence patterns closely, as closely as you can. Attempt to observe at least the same kind, number, and order of clauses and phrases. If the model sentence has an adverb clause, you should write an adverb clause. If the model sentence is introduced by a participial phrase, you should put a participial phrase at the beginning. If the model sentence has three noun clauses arranged in parallel structure, you should write a sentence containing three noun clauses in a similar structure.

The aim of this exercise is not to achieve a word for word correspondence with the model but rather to achieve an awareness of the variety of sentence structures of which the English language is capable. The reason why many students never venture outside their puerile, monotonous sentence structure is that they have never attempted sophisticated sentence patterns. Writing such patterns according to models will increase their syntactical resources. And with more resources at their command, they will acquire more confidence in their writing ability.

No one, of course, says while he or she is writing, “I just wrote a compound sentence interspersed with gerund phrases. This time I think I’ll begin my sentence with an adverb clause and use a series of noun clauses as the object of the main verb.” Such a self-conscious approach to writing would undoubtedly result in some monstrous prose. No, our prose must come naturally. The kind of prose we write cannot be arbitrary; it is governed by the subject matter, the occasion, the purpose, the audience, and the personality of the writer. If it is true that matter and form are intimately related, then there must be one best way in which to say a particular thing for a given audience and purpose. But as a practical matter, what we manage to achieve most of the time is one of a number of better ways to say something.

We will start with some simpler sentences to practice, then each week more difficulty will be added.

You have all week to work on the sentence. Use the first few minutes in class to work on your sentence. Sentences are due at the beginning of class on Fridays. You're welcome to take notes on the sentence or use the beginning of class to ask me to check your sentence. You may also email me with your sentence and the original (in the body of an email) and I will check it.

A ½ point will be taken off for each error.

Some Examples:

Original

1. She sits there, swinging violently for a time, and then suddenly drops without a jar- indeed, descends as lightly as a feather might floatto the ground. – Marianna Moore, “What there is to see at the zoo”

Imitation

1. Billy Bob climbs the tree, ascending rapidly up the branches, and then surprisingly stops with a clatter-actually, stalls as abruptly as a car would halt at a red light.

Original

2. I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. – Henry David Thoreau Walden

Imitation

2. Sally proceeded to the studio because her mother wanted her to learn ballet quickly, to gain strength in her legs, and see if Sally could make friends with others at school, and, when she had grown, to become the dancerthat her mother was not.

Original

1. The gallows stood in a small yard, separate from the main grounds of the prison, and overgrown with tall prickly weeds.—George Orwell, Burmese Days

Imitation

1. The dog shivered in the background, wet from nosing his way through the early-morning grasses and covered with damp cockle-spurs.