Investigate the myriad ways we think about, talk about, and write sentences. In Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft, Professor Brooks Landon from the University of Iowa-one of the nation's top writing schools-shows you the pleasure in reading and writing great sentences. Explore the stylistic rewards (and risks) of various sentence forms, learn how to build and appreciate effective and elegant sentences, get unique insights into the nature of great writing-and discover how you can achieve some of this greatness yourself.
Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft
Explore how to improve your writing by mastering the art of the sentence in this comprehensive course taught by an award-winning professor.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Wilmer from
Building great sentences review
I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the professor on a rather arcane subject. I did keep having technical difficulties as tge voice and picture got out of sync quite a bit.
Date published: 2022-04-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Talkin49 from
Excellent! Highly Recommended!
This course is a good example of a "great course". I wish I had run into Brooks Landon when I went to college 50-years ago. He is exactly the type of English teacher I would have sought out had I known what to look for in an English teacher.
Many thanks to Brooks and the notable colleagues he cites to bring sunshine upon the idiocy of writing instruction and the unsurprising outcomes stemming from it, so many of us continue to endure today. This course is a cure for writing lunacy.
Yes, you'll read reviews here about the laborious nature of the presentation. Since when has learning something worthwhile not involved some effort by the learner? The nuances of learning to become a good writer demand extensive explanation for those with different learning styles to grasp.
Don't be dissuaded by the less than stellar reviews here. This course truly is a "great course". If you've made up your mind to evolve your writing skills, you'll find this course to be an essential tool in your writers' toolkit. The references to external authorities alone for alternative learning and instruction are valuable.
Date published: 2021-12-27
Rated 5 out of
5
by
nrhackman from
Challenging and Valuable
I work as a freelance writer. As such, I am continuously looking for ways to develop my skill and artistry. In this lecture series, Dr. Landon proposes the idea, not always accepted or appreciated, that long sentences, written well, are beautiful things. It was a concept I was inclined to reject prior to listening to this series. Dr. Landon challenged dismantled my preconceptions. I am a better writer for it. Listeners would do well to invest some time in the exercises included in the course booklet.
Date published: 2021-05-24
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Quasar from
Too Many Examples
The first half of the course was outstanding, with his development of cumulative sentence structures. The second half had very little usable content that he passes on, only examples that could be used for anything, so not very useful.
Date published: 2021-05-03
Rated 5 out of
5
by
DaGeek from
Enjoyed it immensely
I am giving this course a hearty two thumbs up. There are a few things that really surprised me about this offering. My reason for selecting the subject was the mundane one of improving my writing, and I was approaching it like taking a much needed dose of medicine. I was surprised how I enjoyed it. There are several reasons for this, but the big one is that Professor Landon is an extraordinary instructor with much enthusiasm for his subject.
I should not have been surprised as I have degrees in science and technology, but I was a bit astounded on how much research there has been over the centuries on sentence structure and rhetoric. I had no idea there was so much literature on the subject
Professor Landon advocating longer, more complex sentences was a bit of an eye opener for me as I have had pounded into me that the best writing is concise and to the point; don’t belabor the reader, not a bad thing for memos and technical writings. However, that attitude has carried over into all my writing.
Even if you do not do a lot of writing, this course will enhance your reading appreciation. Obviously, I am recommending it.
Date published: 2021-03-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
lyonesse from
Excellent advice and food for thought for writers
I'm writing a novel and have focused most of my self taught exploration of craft on story-telling and scene construction, character creation and world building. I didn't think I needed to learn about something as basic as the sentence. I took this class because it was on special offer - no big investment. I'm so glad I did. It reminded me that writing is dancing with words. As Professor Landon says - the sentence is the basic unit of writing that we can most easily control and improve. Who wouldn't want to do that?
Date published: 2021-02-07
Rated 5 out of
5
by
brc25 from
Made me a more conscientious writer
I guess the best compliment I can give is that this course has made me more aware of my own writing and that of others. On the other hand, it has unfortunately also made me more aware of how much poor writing I encounter. In any case, Professor Landon was an excellent teacher and this course motivated me to become a more focused reader and writer.
Date published: 2021-01-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Gregg I from
A Difference Maker
Our preconceptions about a subject often shape how much we are able to learn from it, how relevant the subject is to our daily lives, how easily it can be learned, how intrinsically interesting we find it. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that before viewing this course I thought that sentence composition was somewhat relevant to my daily life, didn't expect to learn much, and thought that sentences could be a mildly interesting topic. I was mistaken. Professor Landon, although clearly well-versed in the theoretical underpinnings of language, puts an emphasis on how to apply the theory to immediately improve not only how clearly your thoughts are communicated, but also the emotional response that your "style" evokes in the reader. The time you spend learning from him will be time well spent.
Date published: 2021-01-08
Overview
About
Dr. Brooks Landon is Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Professor of English and Collegiate Fellow at The University of Iowa and Director of the university's General Education Literature Program. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. Since 1978, Professor Landon has regularly offered a prose-style course focused on the sentence. He has also taught courses in nonfiction writing, contemporary American fiction, 20th-century American literature and culture, modern fiction, science fiction, hypertext fiction and scholarship, and electronic textuality. Published widely in the fields of contemporary American literature and science fiction, Professor Landon is the author of numerous books, including Science Fiction After 1900: From the Steam Man to the Stars; The Aesthetics of Ambivalence: Rethinking Science Fiction in the Age of Electronic (Re)Production; and Thomas Berger. Among his many awards and accolades are a University of Iowa M. L. Huit Teaching Award and an International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts Distinguished Scholarship.
Trailer
01: A Sequence of Words
Building great sentences depends on more than just stringing words together. This lecture explores the definition of a sentence and introduces several assumptions on which the course rests, such as that a greater control of syntax is one of the most direct routes to improving writing....
34 min
02: Grammar and Rhetoric
Examine some of the key terminology used throughout the course and focus on learning how sentences work (their rhetoric) instead of merely labeling their constituent parts (their grammar)....
30 min
03: Propositions and Meaning
A sentence may contain more propositions than are visible in the grammar and syntax of its surface language. Discover how the facts, ideas, and feelings in a sentence lie beneath its words and organization....
30 min
04: How Sentences Grow
Adding propositional content to a kernel sentence ("They slept.") moves sentences forward and enriches their meaning. Here are three types of strategies that give sentences more momentum and depth: the connective, the subordinative, and the adjectival....
30 min
05: Adjectival Steps
Professor Landon makes the case for using adjectival strategies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your sentences. Boiling down subordinate clauses to single modifying words allows you to pack more information into each sentence....
29 min
06: The Rhythm of Cumulative Syntax
Cumulative sentences lend themselves to writing moves that almost guarantee more effective sentences. Learn how these easy-to-write sentences take you through increasingly specific sentence levels and how they clarify and embellish preceding phrases....
31 min
07: Direction of Modification
Cumulative sentences also employ modifying words and phrases before, between, or at the end of base clauses. Investigate the benefits and potential risks of each of these placement options on the meaning of your sentences....
32 min
08: Coordinate, Subordinate, and Mixed Patterns
With your newfound understanding of the relationship between base clauses and modifying phrases, you examine the three major patterns of cumulative sentences and their effect on the base clause: coordinate (refining information), subordinate (providing new information), and mixed (combining the previous two patterns)....
33 min
09: Coordinate Cumulative Sentences
This lecture elaborates on coordinate cumulative patterns, which pile up modifying phrases that point back to the base clause. It also emphasizes the importance of listening to how your sentences read as a means of tightening up their logic....
32 min
10: Subordinate and Mixed Cumulatives
Continuing the discussion of various cumulative sentence patterns, Professor Landon zeroes in on subordinate and mixed patterns, which offer more variety to sentences by adding specificity or tapping into the strengths of both coordinate and subordinate patterns....
29 min
11: Prompts of Comparison
Prompts like "as if," "as though," and "like" can prompt writers to look for metaphors, similes, or speculative phrases that add information, clarification, and imaginative appeal to sentences. Learn how writers forge emotional links with their readers by incorporating figurative language into their writing....
31 min
12: Prompts of Explanation
Prompts can also speculate about the unknown. Examine three major prompts-"because," "perhaps," and "possibly"-to use in your sentences, so you can reveal more of your thinking and strengthen the connection between you and your readers....
31 min
13: The Riddle of Prose Rhythm
Follow along with scholars and critics as they try to study, measure, and explain the mystery of prose rhythm. Learn to better recognize the distinctive rhythms that characterize your sentences by imagining their modifying levels as long or short bits of Morse code....
32 min
14: Cumulative Syntax to Create Suspense
Learn to start thinking about sentences as not just "loose" or "periodic" but as possessing degrees of suspense. Base clauses in a cumulative sentence can be moved about or split to increase or decrease the reader's suspense about how the sentence will end....
32 min
15: Degrees of Suspensiveness
In this lecture, you unpack the periodic/suspensive sentence, which suggests a greater degree of control over its material and, when used effectively, can generate interest by combining complex concepts with syntactical suspense....
31 min
16: The Mechanics of Delay
Look closely at four broad tactics to delay completing the base clause, two of which involve the manipulation of modifiers and two of which use initial clauses or phrases as either extended subjects or as modifiers. You also consider a possible fifth tactic that involves using a colon or semicolon....
29 min
17: Prefab Patterns for Suspense
Another option for adding suspense to sentences is starting them with certain prompts such as "if" or "since." This lecture illustrates the uses of these and other prompts and considers some reasons for making suspense a critical part of your prose style....
30 min
18: Balanced Sentences and Balanced Forms
Perhaps the most intense form of the periodic/suspensive sentence is the balanced sentence. Professor Landon points out that balanced sentences, in drawing their strength from the tension between variation and repetition, offer an advantage to writers comparing two subjects....
30 min
19: The Rhythm of Twos
Binary oppositions in balanced sentences lend confidence and conclusiveness to writing. With its mirroring effect, the duple (double-beat) rhythm gives balanced sentences the power to stay lodged in your mind....
30 min
20: The Rhythm of Threes
Three-part series bring an extended balance to sentences through the buildup of elements in threes. Delve into the unity, progression, and intensification at the heart of this syntactical form....
30 min
21: Balanced Series and Serial Balances
Sentence balance is an extension of the organizational constructs of human consciousness. Explore the prevalence of balanced rhythm in our speech and writing and look at numerous examples of sentence balance....
30 min
22: Master Sentences
The opposite of the minimal base clause is the master sentence: a very long sentence that can function in remarkably original and controlled ways. While no formula can anticipate the context and purpose of master sentences, you can construct effective ones by combining a number of the strategies from earlier lectures....
30 min
23: Sentences in Sequence
Move beyond the sentence and on to the impact of several sentences in sequence and see new possibilities of resonance and relationship among their rhythms and structures....
32 min
24: Sentences and Prose Style
How do our sentences fit into prose style? In exploring critical approaches to this issue, Professor Landon emphasizes that prose style can be seen as both a problem and a gift passed on from writer to writer....
32 min
