Mystery Shopper's Manual

  • Blog
  • About
    • Privacy/Disclosures
  • The Mystery Shopper’s Manual
  • Mystery Shopping Companies
You are here: Home / Grammar and Spelling / Simple Sentences and Compound Sentences

Simple Sentences and Compound Sentences

August 4, 2009 by Cathy Stucker

simple-sentences-compound-sentencesGood narrative writing spells out the facts in a clear, concise way. However, “concise” does not mean using sentence fragments or only short sentences. To make your writing more readable, interesting and easy to follow, vary the lengths of your sentences.

When all of the sentences you use are very short, the narrative is choppy:

I entered the store at 3:04 p.m. Mary greeted me. She told me about the sale. I found three blouses. Mary asked if I wanted to try them on. She led me to the fitting room. Mary unlocked the door. She hung the blouses in the room.

You also should not use only long sentences, especially run-on sentences:

I entered the store at 3:04 p.m. and Mary greeted me and she told me about the sale. I found three blouses, and Mary asked if I wanted to try them on then led me to the fitting room and unlocked the door and hung the blouses in the room.

The first example (short, choppy sentences) is boring and monotonous. The second example (long and run-on sentences) is exhausting. A good way to make your writing better is to use both simple and compound sentences.

Simple sentences contain just one thought.

Mary handed the bag to me.
She thanked me for my purchase.

Compound sentences contain two complete sentences or clauses, brought together with a conjunction, such as: and, but, or, so, et al.

Mary handed the bag to me, and she thanked me for my purchase.

There are several ways to rewrite the original example above, but for our purposes here we are going to only look at using both simple and compound sentences. Here is how it might read (Simple sentences are in this color, and compound sentences are in this color.):

I entered the store at 3:04 p.m. Mary greeted me, and she told me about the sale. I found three blouses. Mary asked if I wanted to try them on, and she led me to the fitting room. Mary unlocked the door and hung the blouses in the room.

A good way to check the rhythm of your writing is to read what you have written out loud. Listen, not only to the words, but to the flow of the words. Are all sentences very short? Or do you find yourself running out of breath before you come to the end of many of your sentences?

Mix up sentence length to make your writing better.

Filed Under: Grammar and Spelling, Writing Mystery Shopper Reports Tagged With: compound sentences, run-on sentences, secret shopping reports, sentence fragments, simple sentences

« Mystery Shopper Scam Victim Put in Jail
Mystery Shopper Scam Used State Job Search System »

Mystery Shopping Companies

Updated 4/20/18! Access my free curated list of more than 150 legitimate mystery shopping companies.

Scam Warning

If you received a check or money order with instructions to cash it and wire money to someone, DON'T DO IT! This is a scam.
Click here to learn more about
mystery shopper scams.

Get ‘The Mystery Shopper’s Manual’

NEW 7TH EDITION!

Get your personally autographed copy of The Mystery Shopper's Manual here.
mystery-shoppers-manual-3d

Connect with Cathy

Follow Me on FacebookFollow Me on Google+Follow Me on TwitterFollow Me on LinkedInFollow Me on YouTubeFollow Me on PinterestFollow Me on RSS

Recent Articles

  • Do Millionaires Mystery Shop?
  • Mystery Shopper Resolutions
  • Mystery Shopping for Mystery Shopper Pros
  • Keep the “Secret” in “Secret Shopper”
  • The McDonald’s Receipt Hack

Categories

Applying to Mystery Shopping Companies Customer Service Dealing with Mystery Shopping Companies Dealing with Shopping Emergencies Employees and Mystery Shopping Grammar and Spelling Green Mystery Shopping Hazards of Mystery Shopping Holiday Mystery Shopping How to Become a Mystery Shopper Identity Theft Independent Contractor Issues Industry News Make Money Online Memory Improvement Money and Mystery Shopping Mystery Shopper Certification Mystery Shopper Ethics Mystery Shopper Fun Mystery Shopper Jobs Mystery Shopper Scam Mystery Shopper Scheduling Companies Mystery Shopper Secrecy Mystery Shopper Taxes Mystery Shopper Tools Mystery Shopping Clients Mystery Shopping Company Mystery Shopping Pay Mystery Shopping Providers Association Mystery Shopping Recordkeeping Mystery Shopping Resources Online Security Opportunities for Mystery Shoppers Preparing for the Mystery Shop Profitable Mystery Shopping Secret Shopper How-To Secret Shopper Quick Tips Secret Shopping and the Law Secret Shopping Confidentiality Sticky Secret Shopper Situations Technology and Secret Shopping Types of Mystery Shops Video Mystery Shopping Working Online Writing Mystery Shopper Reports

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 · Cathy Stucker

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in