Using different sentence patterns is essential to add variety to your writing. If your prose is made up entirely of short sentences, the reader will lose interest after a while. Here are a few tips on varying and improving your sentences.

Try beginning an occasional sentence with an adverb

By beginning a sentence with an adverb, you can make it stand out from the rest. Note that adverbs sometimes need a comma after them.

In the garden, the children were playing.

Wildly, he rushed into the room.

Sometimes I think I would like to live somewhere else.

Usually I get up early.

Adverbs that can go at the beginning of a sentence include: usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes and occasionally.

Try repeating words

By repeating a word, extra effect is obtained. Be careful, however, not to do this too often.

Nearer and nearer came the wild dogs.

Down and down sank the boat.

Improve your sentences with adjectival phrases

Adjectival phrases add meaning to nouns.

Compare:

A man suddenly made an appearance.

A man in a black coat suddenly made an appearance. (This sentence is better than the first sentence because it conveys more .)

The church was bombed during the war.

The church on the hill was bombed during the war.