Writers Effects: Rhythm Good authors are sensitive to cadence, rhythm and pace of their writing.

They chose with care words that give movement to their prose, but they also craft their sentences with great care to affect their readers emotions, create tones and convey ideas effectively. 2. Rhythm
Rhythms provide a sense of order and expectation. Music can cease to be music when rhythm is lost, instead it descends into a chaotic web of sounds. When any sense of rhythm and natural order is destroyed in our lives, then we may feel as if we are out of sync. One reason that music holds such appeal for many people is that rhythm reflects our natural desire for rhythms in life. Writers also think carefully about the rhythm of sentences and how different rhythms convey different meanings. Some ways they include rhythm is through their diction, soft and hard consonants, long or short vowel sounds and sibilance. All contribute to the ebb and flow of their writing. In addition, their crafting of syntax and punctuation creates movement and pace which are used to affect the tone, meaning and atmosphere in a piece of prose. When discussing rhythm the use of cadence can be useful. Cadence : a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language.

Syntax
Some different sentence types
Simple Sentence Has a subject and a predicate. Compound Sentence Two simple sentences joined with a conjunction or comma. I went to the shop and bought lollies. Complex Sentence Has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. After school, while walking slowly home, I went to the shop and bought some lollies. Minor Sentence Has no verb.

Definition

Example

I went to the shop.

Bad girl.

Some ways to use sentences Sentence Types

Short sentences in a row. One short sentence in isolation. One or more long sentences. Two balanced sentences.

Possible Effects
Tension. Speed. Disconnection. Dramatic emphasis on one item A variety of moods and paces depending on structure and sound. Witty emphasis. Contrast between things.

In this extract by Janet Frame she has used a variety of sentence types and parts of sentences to great effect. She has used a minor sentence, repetition of predicates, parenthesis and a relative clause. The overall effect of her control of syntax is create a focus on prizes, as the school obviously had, but to also position the reader to feel great sympathy for those unfortunates who never received prizes. Prizes. Some did not get prizes. Dotty Baker with the greasy hair never got a prize. Maud Gray, who found it hard to read even simple sentences aloud, never got a prize.

Reorganised Syntax Authors can play with the order of words in a sentence to affect the emphasis given and also to affect the flow and fluency of their words. One way of reordering syntax is to put the subject of the sentence at the end and starting with a prepositional phrase as F. Scott Fitzgerald has done. What is the effect of each and which version do you prefer?
F. Scott-Fitzgerald On the pleasant shore of the French Riviera, about halfway between Marseilles and the Italian border, stands a large, proud rose-coloured hotel.

A lesser author may have done this The proud rose-coloured hotel stands on the pleasant shore of the French Riviera, about halfway between Marseilles and the Italian border.

Punctuation
Someone has described punctuation as good manners since it enables a writer to communicate ideas clearly, and an author can skilfully guide us through his writing by his use of punctuation.
1. Read this letter. It has been punctuated so that it reads as a love letter. Dear Jack, I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when were apart. I can be forever happy will you let me be yours? Jill. 2. This is exactly the same letter except for the altered punctuation. Due only to punctuation changes, the tone is completely different so that it now reads as a hate letter. Dear Jack I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous kind thoughtful people who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn, for you I have no feelings whatsoever. When were apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be! Yours Jill.

But more than that, punctuation conveys tone. Carefully placed punctuation can suggest an aside (commas used as parenthesis) or surprise (a question mark) or outrage (an exclamation mark). Changing the balance between full stops and commas may move a passage from a breathless child-like tone to a terse or emphatic one.