Written by Brooks Landon
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 32 Kbps

Whether two words ("Jesus wept.") or 1,287 words (a sentence in William Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom!), sentences have the power to captivate, entertain, motivate, educate, and, most importantly, delight.

Understanding the variety of ways to construct sentences, from the smallest clause to the longest sentence, is important to enhancing your appreciation of great writing and potentially improving your own.

Why do some lengthy sentences flow effortlessly while others stumble along?
Why are you captivated by the writing of particular authors but not others?
How can you craft sentences that reflect your own unique outlook on the world?

Get the answers to these and other questions about writing and style in Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft, a lively 24-lecture course taught by Professor Brooks Landon from the University of Iowa—one of the nation's top writing schools. You explore the myriad ways in which we think about, talk about, and write sentences. You discover insights into what makes for pleasurable reading. You also learn how you can apply these methods to your own writing.

24 Lectures
30 minutes / lecture

1 A Sequence of Words
2 Grammar and Rhetoric
3 Propositions and Meaning
4 How Sentences Grow
5 Adjectival Steps
6 The Rhythm of Cumulative Syntax
7 Direction of Modification
8 Coordinate, Subordinate, and Mixed Patterns
9 Coordinate Cumulative Sentences
10 Subordinate and Mixed Cumulatives
11 Prompts of Comparison
12 Prompts of Explanation
13 The Riddle of Prose Rhythm
14 Cumulative Syntax to Create Suspense
15 Degrees of Suspensiveness
16 The Mechanics of Delay
17 Prefab Patterns for Suspense
18 Balanced Sentences and Balanced Forms
19 The Rhythm of Twos
20 The Rhythm of Threes
21 Balanced Series and Serial Balances
22 Master Sentences
23 Sentences in Sequence
24 Sentences and Prose Style