Elaine McNally is an experienced English teacher, former Head of Department, and now Assistant Headteacher with a responsibility for teaching and learning. She enjoys encouraging her students to explore and experiment with their writing. She shares her insights on her blog at www.mrsmacteach33.wordpress.com and tweets at @mrsmacteach33.
Here, she explains how teaching students how to use academic sentences ensures better quality writing overall.
Teaching Academic Sentences
Great writing starts with great sentences. Explicitly teaching students how to construct precise, controlled sentences is crucial—without this foundation, they can’t effectively convey their ideas. Think of sentence construction as designing a clock. Every cog must work in harmony for the clock to tell time accurately, just as every sentence must connect seamlessly to create a cohesive essay. Each sentence carries the weight of thought, linking together to form a powerful sequence. By focusing on sentence-level instruction, we ensure that every part contributes to a compelling whole.
Sentence stems to try
I like to focus on a core group of flexible sentence stems. The key is to teach the structure, foregrounding the thinking that the stem enables, not imposing a formula for writing a sentence.
Because, But, So:
- Because: Highlights cause and effect.
- But: Introduces a contradictory point.
- So: Explores a conclusion or consequence.
Since…Perhaps: Recognises an established truth, building on it to express possibilities.
Ostensibly…However: Encourages looking beyond surface meaning to include deeper analysis.
Not Only…but also: Allows for multiple points about a single topic.
Subordinating sentence stems
Subordination is the golden ticket. It helps students expand sentences whilst holding on to the core point. There are many ways to do subordination: coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, relative clauses and appositives. Sometimes, giving students a metalanguage to describe what is being taught is helpful; spotting and naming an appositive might help students write their own. But it is also true that students don’t need fancy labels to do something; I prefer to use the simple, umbrella term subordination, and then talk a lot about comma brackets!
Janus Structure: A sentence that acknowledges previous points while introducing new ones. Connections enhance coherence.
- Having discussed….It is also important to consider….
- Previously, Mr Birling argued….now he….
Straw Man, Strong Man: Sets up an idea then challenges with an alternative argument. Show students how to use conditional phrasing with this.
- It could be argued that…however….
- The writer may be suggesting…yet….
- Mrs Birling might believe…but Priestley makes clear….
Potential pitfalls
Mindlessly copying stems can result in pretentious or inaccurate writing. The goal is to use them as support for critical, disciplinary thought. For example, the stem “ostensibly…however” fosters deeper analysis, a type of thinking that can be achieved with other stems, allowing students to develop their own style. Similarly, ‘straw man strong man’ and Janus sentences can look like a variety of stems. Encouraging flexibility and creativity in using sentence stems helps students think and write more effectively.
Conclusion
Teaching sentence construction is about more than just creating well-formed sentences; it’s about developing students’ ability to think critically so they can articulate their ideas clearly. By modelling sentence stems, encouraging flexible thinking, and integrating sentence-level work with broader writing opportunities, teachers can empower students to become confident, skilled writers. Remember, writing is thinking, and by mastering sentence structure, students gain a powerful tool for expressing their thoughts effectively.
Further reading
Academic sentence building: pdf of a bookmark that you can use in your classroom!
Because, But, So: ‘The Writing Revolution’ Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler
Not Only…but also: Tom Needham https://tomneedhamteach.wordpress.com/2019/10/02/the-6-skills-part-4-multiple-interpretations/
Subordination: Kate Pretsell https://readytowritecouk.wordpress.com/2022/03/10/ba/
Janus Structure: John Tomsett https://johntomsett.com/2014/02/01/this-much-i-know-about-teaching-students-how-to-plan-stonkingly-good-essays/
