Download Writing Sophistication: Techniques for Complex Sentence Structures and more Study notes Spanish Language in PDF only on Docsity! Spanish RL 115 Written by Prof. Mary Ellen Kiddle HOW TO SOPHISTICATE YOUR WRITING I. Avoid short, choppy sentences. Combine thoughts with: a. Coordinating conjunctions-and, but, or, nor (y, pero sino, o, ni), etc. b. Conjunctive adverbs--however, nevertheless (sin embargo, no obstante), therefore (por lo tanto), moreover (además), consequently (por consiguiente); and other in betweeners-yet, still (aun, todavía), so (así que), on the other hand (en cambio, por otra parte), etc. c. Subordinate clauses 1. relative clauses. Ex. I know a man. He is nice. I know a man who is nice. 2. introductory clauses--when (cuando), since (puesto que), whenever (cada vez que), even if (aun si), although (aunque), whereas (mientras que), because of (a causa de), in order to (para), etc. Ex. I was and I went to bed. Estaba cansada y me acosté. Since I was tired, I went to bed. Puesto que estaba cansada, me acosté. 3. gerunds. Ex. He ran as fast as he could and reached the end of the road. Running as fast as he could, he reached the end of the road. II. Avoid the same old sentence pattern of Subject / Verb / Object--Complement (María escribe la carta; or María es simpática). Use more complex and varied sentence patterns. Simple sentence: Voy al cine Compound (joined by conjunction): Voy al cine y veo la película. Complex (subordinate clause): Cuando voy al cine, veo películas interesantes. Compound-complex (subordinate clause and conjunction): Cuando voy al cine, veo películas interesantes y como mucho. III. Use little words (of course--claro; then--entonces; afterward-después; etc.) or anything at all to introduce sentences and vary sentence patterns. IV. Vary vocabulary-be adventuresome a. avoid the old first year chestnuts: bueno, malo, me gusta, simpático, interesante, inteligente, etc. Try to use NEW ways of saying things. Consult dictionary. Instead of “Mi amiga es muy simpática” try expanding to “Mi amiga es una persona que muestra frecuentemente su generosidad y su respeto por los demás.” b. Be specific and varied in your vocabulary. Avoid repeating same words throughout your writing. If you say DIFERENTE once, use DISTINTO next time. V. Vary Verbs--be adventuresome a. tense--don't always write in present. Use full array of tenses, including compound tenses. b. voice--switch from active to passive (and passive substitutes) c. mood--use subjunctive as well as indicative d . use NEW verbs--not just quiero, creo, pienso, me gusta, etc. Use dictionary. VI. Be more reflective, adventuresome in choice of subject matter. Don’t just tell WHAT you did or believe, tell WHY you did it, WHAT YOU LEARNED, HOW it compares to previous experiences etc. VII. Remember that you didn’t learn to walk by standing still and also that you fell down a lot. So it is preferable to write some strange things that show you are trying to break into a trot than to maintain a safe but ample pace. Practice in Sophisticating Your Sentences Let’s practice some of the techniques we’ve just studied. 1. Combine into one sentence: Yo veo el gato. El gato es blanco. El gato camina solo. 2. Expand: Add information which is not included in the three short sentences above. (form one sentence) 3. Combine into one sentence: Soy estudiante. Vivo en Amherst. Soy de Connecticut Estudio en la Universidad de Massachussetts. 4. Expand: Add information which is not included in the four sentences above. (form one sentence) 5. Coordinating conjunctions: a. Combine by using a conjunction: Llegué a las tres. Encontré a mi amigo. b. Write two original sentences using two different conjunctions.
