Source: Wordle, Thea Goldin Smith, Wikimedia

Take a look at this collage of words. Does it mean anything to you, or is it just a bunch of words? Look closely and you will begin to see a pattern. Most of the words are nouns and adjectives, but what do they have in common? What is the intended message? You might have realized that the words are about education. Furthermore, the graphic suggests that schools have a certain culture because the words “school” and “culture” are the biggest words.

Similar to this graphic, if you are trying to convey a clear, specific message, you will need to create your own sentence patterns or syntax. You will also need to write complete sentences using not only nouns and adjectives but also verbs, adverbs, and conjunctions.You will write short, strong sentences. You will write complex sentences, sentences with variety, sentences that are effective because they break away from the simplistic sentences that came before them or may come after them. You will create syntax.

Using your notes, choose words from the word graphic above and create these four distinct types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative. Be sure your sentences are complete thoughts that use other parts of speech such as articles, nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. When you are finished, check your understanding to see a sample response.