Understanding Dr. Hunter’s Sentence Types to Enhance Writing Skills: Part 2

In the second part of our series on Dr. Ian Hunter's Eight Sentence Types, we delve into four more structures that promote creativity and critical thinking in your child's writing. By incorporating these sentence types into their compositions, students can elevate their storytelling and add complexity to their work.

5. Verb Beginnings:

    - Starting a sentence with a verb adds energy and action.
    - ing ending verbs are particularly effective for this sentence structure.

Encourage your child to begin sentences with verbs to create more dynamic and engaging writing.

Examples:

• Calculating the data reveals interesting trends.
• Demonstrating proper form enhances exercise efficiency.
• Comparing data sets highlights significant differences.

6. Explore the Subject:

    - This sentence type follows a specific formula: Subject + "which" (if it's a thing) or "who" (if it's a person) + interesting point + what you wanted to say.
    - It prompts a deeper exploration of the subject matter and promotes critical thinking.

Encourage your child to utilise this sentence structure when elaborating on a topic or making connections.

Examples:

• The scientific method, which guides research, ensures rigorous investigation.
• The human body, a complex system, adapts to physical stressors.
• Nutrition, a critical aspect of the training routine, fuels athletes' strength and recovery.

 7. Prepositional:

     - Prepositional sentences begin with a prepositional phrase at the start.
     - A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends in a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
     - Prepositions are little words indicating movement or position. Some examples of prepositions are “in,” “on,” “at,” “through,” “across,” “over,” “up,” or “beside.”

Encourage your child to experiment with prepositional sentences to vary the sentence structure and add complexity to their writing.

Examples:

• At the gym, participants engaged in high-intensity interval training.
• Over the course of the study, significant improvements were observed.
• Beside the river, anglers enjoyed a day of fishing and relaxation.

8. Paired-Double:

    - Paired-double sentences contain two independent clauses joined by a conjunction like "and" or "but."
    - Independent clauses are self-contained sentences that make sense on their own.

Encourage your child to use paired-double sentences to express contrasting ideas or combine related thoughts.

Examples:

• The experiment yielded valuable data, but further analysis is needed.
• Participants followed the training program diligently, and they saw progress.
• Understanding scientific principles is fundamental, and it applies to real-world scenarios.

By incorporating these sentence types into their writing, students can unlock their creativity and express their ideas with depth and sophistication. These techniques will enrich their writing skills and enable them to connect more effectively with their audience.

Ms Camilla Cook
Teacher & Literacy Coordinator
Camilla_cook@shalomcollege.com