Sentence structure and length are essential elements of good style. A good sentence is neither too short nor too long. Long sentences confuse the reader, make the writer lose focus, and increase the risk of grammatical errors. Short sentences are frustrating and boring. There is no exact formula for success, as every sentence is different, it takes time and attention to get this right. However, the example below may help.

Too Long

Nowadays the world is a small place, people travel abroad regularly for work, study and pleasure, and keep in touch easily using the internet, but regardless we can still find places where tourists and foreign faces are the exception rather than the rule, but only if we make an effort to be more adventurous, leave our guidebooks at home, and open our minds to truly unfamiliar experiences, unaided by the familiarity of international hotels and fast food chains.

Too Short

Nowadays the world is a small place. People travel abroad regularly. They travel for work, study and pleasure. People keep in touch easily using the internet. Regardless, we can still find quiet places. Places where tourists and foreign visitors are the exception rather than the rule. We can only find them if we make an effort….

Just Right

Nowadays the world is a small place, and people travel abroad regularly for work, study and pleasure, keeping in touch easily using the internet. Regardless, we can still find places where tourists and foreign faces are the exception rather than the rule. However, this is only if we make an effort to be more adventurous and leave our guidebooks at home. If we open our minds to truly unfamiliar experiences, unaided by the familiarity of international hotels and fast food chains, it is possible.

Asking questions (which you will then proceed to answer) is a good way of grabbing a reader’s attention, especially in an introduction or topic sentence.

• Consider these openings for the paragraph you read in the section above:
  • Is it still possible for a traveler to find places ‘untouched’ by tourism?
  • Nowadays, can the intrepid traveler really get ‘off the beaten track’?
  • In this age of international tourism and globalization, are there still places where foreign faces are the exception rather than the rule?

By asking your reader the question, you invite them to think about what their own response would be for a moment before reading your comments, this requires the reader to be more active, and helps keep them interested in your work.

In English, repeating the same vocabulary many times is considered poor style, boring and repetitious.
This might be very different from your own language.
Read the paragraph below, and consider:

How many ways is the concept of ‘elders’ expressed in the text below?
How about the concept of ‘respect’?
Is there an expression that is overused? (Overused = used too much)

Young people today do not have enough respect for their elders. In the past, young people were expected to listen and answer politely to people senior in age to them, and always give up their seats for older citizens. Young people also respected the wisdom and knowledge that elderly people had gained in their lives, and accepted the advice of their grandparents and parents. Nowadays, however, young people are much freer than in the past, they are more independent minded, and in western society this type of individualism or originality is valued and encouraged. Young people do not hold their teachers in as high esteem as in the past, and feel comfortable questioning their knowledge. Senior citizens are often shocked by the behavior of young people, and complain that they looked up to people senior to them in age when they were young. It is not uncommon to hear these kinds of complaints in our society, but are they justified? Should our elders be revered solely for their accumulated years?

Now scroll down

In this text, ‘young people’ is overused. How many alternatives can you think of?

You’ve read about different types of essays in the lesson for Week 3. Now it’s your turn to try your hand at writing several different styles. For your assignment this week, write a compare/contrast essay.

Be sure to try to stir up the reader’s emotion in this essay, and use language that will help the reader to vividly imagine what you are describing. As you now know, descriptive essays provides details about how something looks, feels, tastes, sounds, smells, or makes one feel, so make sure you include lots of adjectives that will engage the five senses. You don’t have to ‘tell the truth’ absolutely when writing this essay. Be creative and ‘lie’ a little to make your essay more interesting.