Preventing School Failure, 54(3), 159–163, 2010
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LCC
ISSN: 1045-988X print
DOI: 10.1080/10459880903495851
Writing Better Sentences:
Sentence-Combining Instruction
in the Classroom
Bruce Saddler and Kristie Asaro-Saddler
ABSTRACT: Constructing well-formed sentences is 1 area of writ-
from direct, systematic instruction in sentence construction skills. A writing intervention created in the 1960s
called sentence combining is one way to directly teach
these important skills. However, despite strong research
evidence of its effectiveness, sentence combining is
not widely used in many writing workshop approaches
(Saddler, 2007).
Therefore, to help teachers effectively supplement their
writing instruction with sentence combining techniques, we
explain sentence combining and summarize the important
practical results and implications from recent empirical
articles. We also explain research-supported methods for
creating sentence-combining activities and for teaching
sentence combining.
Sentence combining provides structured practice manipulating and rewriting basic or kernel sentences into forms
that are more syntactically mature and varied (Ney, 1981;
Strong, 1976). For example, writers who might typically
create short, simple sentences such as “The boy is short.
The boy has red hair.” can learn to change these sentences
into more syntactically complex, mature, and interesting
sentences, such as “the short boy had red hair” or “the redhaired boy was short” (depending on what element of the
sentence the writer wishes to emphasize), through practicing sentence-combining techniques. On the other end of the
sentence-creation spectrum, sentence-combining practice
can help writers who produce sentences that are overly
complex or unclear to decombine the sentences into their
ing that may be particularly difficult for less skilled writers and
writers with learning disabilities. Many of these writers may benefit from direct, systematic instruction in sentence-construction
skills. A writing intervention called sentence combining is 1
way to teach these important skills. The authors explain the
importance of sentence skills and the difficulties that writers may
experience with sentences, summarizing the practical results and
implications from recent empirical studies. The authors also discuss suggestions for creating sentence combining activities and
teaching sentence.
KEYWORDS: learning disabilities, sentence combining, sentence
construction, writing
ONE REASON EDUCATORS ASK STUDENTS to write
is to discover what the student knows about a topic. However, arriving at this place of discovery through the craft of
writing can be a daunting task for students. Writing requires
an attention to a physical process of putting fingers on keys
or pencil to paper and a mental process of idea creation and
the wording of those ideas to effectively render thoughts. It
is not surprising that these physical and mental processes
can be demanding.
Although many students occasionally struggle with writing, for less skilled writers and writers with a learning
disability (LD), writing can be even more challenging
(Graham & Harris, 1989), particularly when trying to
construct well-formed and syntactically varied sentences.
These writers may generate sentences that are shorter, less
syntactically complex, lower in quality, more error filled,
and less varied in vocabulary than their more skilled peers
(Graham & Harris; Myklebust, 1973).
Because sentence creation is a foundational part of
the writing process, many of these writers might benefit
Address correspondence to Bruce Saddler and Kristie AsaroSaddler, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology,
Division of Special education, University of Albany, Albany, NY
12222, USA; [email protected] (e-mail).
159
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Preventing School Failure
basic kernels and then recombine them into a more cohesive
and understandable whole. Through this process, students
can learn to untangle, tighten, and focus sentences that are
too complex for a reader to easily understand.
In addition, sentence-combining exercises can prompt
students to use syntactic options in their writing by providing purposeful practice in controlling and manipulating
syntax through rearranging sentence elements, which is
a basic part of the revision process. Instead of producing
longer sentences, this practice may help produce better
sentences by teaching writers to use a variety of syntactic
forms that more closely match the writer’s intent. Last,
through supportive discussions and feedback without the
burden of producing a right answer, the anxiety many less
skilled writers may have toward trying out new and different sentences can be reduced.
Sentence combining further helps students, especially
those with disabilities, because the practice sentences may
provide content for the student (Melvin, 1983). Providing content in the form of short sentences that the writer
can manipulate allows practice to express ideas without
the additional stress of having to develop the ideas. Furthermore, when writers are provided content for writing
exercise, a major factor competing for working and shortterm memory space is removed so students can concentrate
attention on testing text against intentions and in modifying
the developing text (Gebhardt, 1985).
Since the early 1960s, researchers have documented
the positive effects of sentence combining practice with
young writers (Saddler, 2007) through college-aged writers
(Smith & Combs, 1980). Consistently throughout more
than 80 studies, sentence combining has positively influenced the ability of students with and without disabilities
to create more complex sentences of higher quality (e.g.,
Combs, 1975; O’Hare, 1973; Saddler & Graham, 2005).
There is also evidence that sentence combining improves
revising skills (Horstman, 1989; Saddler, 2005) and story
writing (Saddler, 2005, 2007).
In addition, recently the sentence construction ability,
story quality, and revising ability of young writers were
improved after learning sentence combining in a peerassisted arrangement (Saddler & Graham, 2005). In Saddler
and Graham’s study, more skilled writers were paired with
less skilled writers during instruction and were trained to
support each other during the acquisition and practice of the
sentence-combining practice activities. The pairing allowed
the writers to work as a team to develop solutions to the
exercises.
In a more recent study by Saddler (2007), young writers
with disabilities in an urban setting were paired in dyads for
instruction; however, Saddler and Graham’s (2005) study
was extended in two ways. First, an effort was made to
increase the generalization of sentence combining skills to
Vol. 54, No. 3
1.
The cake was delicious.
The cake was chocolate.
2.
The cat chased the ball.
The cat was old.
3.
The winter is boring.
The winter is long.
4.
The girl looked at the boy.
She looked sadly.
FIGURE 1. Sample exercises.
story writing through two parallel writing tasks: combining
a series of kernel sentences into one paragraph (for a sample
activity, see Figure 1) and combining phrases into sentences and the sentences into one paragraph (for a sample activity, see Figure 2). Second, the instructional pairings were
adjusted so that two less skilled writers worked together in a
peer-assisted framework (e.g., Fuchs, Fuchs, & Thompson,
2001). This pairing was used to determine how less skilled
writers might complete sentence combining tasks without
the help of a more skilled writer during the activities. The
results support the use of sentence combining practice to
increase sentence construction ability. Furthermore, story
quality and writing complexity improved after sentencecombining practice.
Studies by both Saddler (2007) and Saddler and Graham
(2005) suggest that sentence combining can be used with
young writers in urban settings to improve sentence construction ability and story quality. Furthermore, that peer
instruction is an effective method of arranging instruction
even with two less-skilled writers paired together and that
parallel writing tasks can increase the generalization of the
learned sentence combining skills to story writing. Last,
that such instruction can improve the amount and quality of
revisions attempted.
Educators can easily teach and practice sentence combining alongside the writing process approach in an inclusive
classroom, resource room, or self-contained setting because
the exercises can be tailored to the students’ various skill
levels and can be practiced individually or in peer dyads.
Writers may apply sentence combining most effectively
during the revising stages as students rescan their writing
to determine whether sentence level changes can be made;
Vol. 54, No. 3
The Volcano
1.
The ground shook.
The ground trembled.
The ground was around the mountain.
The mountain was tall.
2.
The people were frightened.
The people lived in the town.
The town was close to the mountain.
3.
They heard a noise.
The noise was loud.
The noise shook their houses.
The noise shook their furniture.
Write your paragraph on lines below.
Saddler & Asaro-Saddler
161
content-area texts, magazines, or any other print source by
simply reducing a passage into kernel sentences. Many of
these sources may also provide students with information
on a new concept or may reinforce a lesson while practicing
writing. Classroom activities or school events or functions as
well as students’ lives and interests could also be sources.
It is not necessary to follow these suggestions sequentially,
but beginning with two simple sentences is usually best even
if the students’ writing does not have many short, choppy
sentences because educators will want to keep the initial
activities uncomplicated until their students understand how
to combine sentences effectively. Educators should keep the
two sentences as similar as possible, except for the words
to be combined. For example, sentences such as “The cat is
white. The cat is fat.” is a perfect introduction to sentence
combining for younger writers. The form in which the sentences are presented is very important. It is best to set up the
exercises so that the base clause comes first, followed by one
or more modifying sentence or sentences (Strong, 1986).
The following is an example that represents this exercise:
Base sentence:
The bird flew.
Modifying sentence:
The bird was white.
Combination:
The white bird flew.
Place connecting words in parenthesis following the sentence in which they appear. For example,
FIGURE 2. Combining sets of kernal sentences into
paragraphs.
I went to sleep.
I am very tired. (BECAUSE …)
however, the exercises can be introduced and practiced at
any time.
Overall Instruction
Creating Exercises
Before introducing sentence combining to their classes,
educators need to create exercises. The best source for exercises is students’ own writing. Using their work engages
students at their level of understanding and may provide
solutions to problems that they are experiencing with a
current piece. To discover what skill to teach first, educators should analyze a sample of their students’ writing to
determine what skills need to be acquired, by noting, for
example, any of the following: (a) many students write in
short, choppy sentences; (b) others create sentences that are
connected by series of ands, or (c) many of the sentences
begin in the same manner. If several students or a whole
class lacks the same skill, you can teach these activities
to the entire group (for a skill sequence and additional
examples of exercises, see Saddler, 2007).
In addition to students’ own writing, educators can also
create exercises from authentic literature, trade books,
Words or phrases to be embedded into the base sentence are
underlined. These serve as “clue words.” For example:
The pie was sweet.
The pie was delicious.
This example could result in a combination such as the
following:
The delicious pie was sweet.
Educators should remind their students that unnecessary information in the second sentence was eliminated
and only the underlined word was included in the new
combination.
Once the students are comfortable with cued exercises,
eliminate the underline or connecting words. Without the
clue, the students must decide what material in the second
sentence is important enough to include with the first when
combined. For example,
The monkey climbed the tree.
The tree was tall.
With practice, the students will understand that the word
“tall” in the second sentence offers new information and
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Preventing School Failure
should be included in the new combination, resulting in the
following:
The monkey climbed the tall tree.
Such exercises can prompt students to reflect on using
language in a precise way. To increase the complexity of
these exercises, create problems with three or more kernel
sentences to be combined. For example,
The hamster was small.
The hamster was furry.
The hamster was gray.
The hamster lived in a cage.
One example of many possibilities for this set of kernels is
“Living in the cage was a small, furry, gray hamster.”
Introducing Sentence Combining
After creating a series of exercises, educators should
introduce sentence combining to their entire class or to
a small select groups of students by explaining that this
activity can help writers create more interesting sentences
that sound better to readers. Educators should inform their
students that typically, good writers often rearrange, add,
or eliminate parts of their sentences to make them sound
better. In addition, educators should make it clear that when
finding solutions for the exercises, there is usually be more
than one answer and that mistakes are expected because
many of the students are likely experiencing certain sentence combinations for the first time.
Educators should display a simple pair of kernels and
overtly model a combination by sharing their thinking and
suggesting why the new combination sounds better. In addition, educators should show students that when combining
sentences, they may move words or parts around, delete or
change words or parts, or add words or parts to the sentences
to make them sound better, as skilled writers do. If necessary,
educators could circle the words that are the same in both
sentences and show how redundant information was eliminated. They could write several different combinations on the
board and explain why some options are better than others.
After modeling several combinations, educators should
let the students practice independently or with a peer with
teacher support as needed. Educators should write sentences on the overhead for students to practice combining
and allow the students to share several possible ways to
combine the sentences either orally or by writing their suggestions on the overhead or board. Also, educators should
discuss which solutions are very creative and discuss why
these options are better than others (i.e. sentences that contain the word and several times) then in future practice sessions begin by completing several exercises orally to save
time and increase the practice opportunities.
Vol. 54, No. 3
Promoting Sentence Variety
Once the students have practiced sentence combining with
simple kernel sets, teachers should move on to combining
sets of kernels into paragraphs. Paragraph practice requires
individual sentences to be fit together into a cohesive whole.
Educators may also want to provide their students with
complete paragraphs that could be recombined or revised
to improve clarity. For example, compound sentences could
be modeled within paragraphs containing a series of short
choppy sentences. The following is an sample:
It was midnight.
Chandler turned off the lights.
He walked upstairs.
He went to bed.
One way to combine these sentences could be,
At midnight, Chandler turned off the lights, walked upstairs,
and went to bed.
Other paragraphs can have additional adjective clauses
or appositives added for more sophisticated and descriptive
sentences. Sentences could also be changed for better stylistic flow and rhythm. During this process, educators should
focus on creating better, more meaningful sentences, not
on editing the work for spelling mistakes or other technical
writing problems.
Sentence Combining to Improve Revising
Because recombining sentences is a basic syntax revising activity, having students practice sentence combining
can improve the number and effectiveness of the revisions
they make in their stories (Saddler, Behforooz, & Asaro,
2008). However, many students with disabilities may not
use their sentence-combining skills without direct prompting or without practice sessions that require application of
the learned skill to revise their work. Two activities can
help students acquire these skills. In one activity, students
edit one of their own pieces of writing, finding two or
three places to change a sentence using the skill that they
have learned. If necessary, educators should help them
find places to make changes. In another activity, students
include at least two sentences that target the learned skill in
a new piece of writing. For example, if students are working
on cause–effect subordinate clauses, there should be two
sentences that correctly use one of the following words:
because, since, so, even though.
Evaluating Responses
While rating responses, students may want describe an
answer as right or wrong; however, a superior gauge of
correctness is effectiveness. In other words, which version sounds better? Which better conveys the author’s
Vol. 54, No. 3
intent? Nemans (1995) recommended three standards to
help students determine a solution’s effectiveness: clarity
and directness of meaning, rhythmic appeal, and intended
audience. Educators should apply these standards to sentence combinations through teacher modeling and discussion, and then have peers rate each other’s responses using
the standards.
Conclusion
When sentence-combining exercises are used as one
component within a well-rounded writing program, they
may help your students reduce choppy or run-on style
sentences (Saddler, Behforhooz, & Asaro, 2008; Saddler &
Graham, 2005) and increase their ability to make effective
revisions (Saddler & Graham). Improving one of the fundamental building blocks of good writing, namely, the ability
to write effective and complete sentences through sentencecombining activities, can be an important element in our
approaches to helping children become better writers.
AUTHOR NOTES
Bruce Saddler and Kristie Asaro-Saddler are assistant professors at the University of Albany, Albany, New York. Their research
interests include writing disabilities and self-regulation.
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