Generally when we think of sentence fluency, reading rate comes to mind. Sentence fluency is more complex. It involves varying the length of sentences or number of words, the words that start sentences and end punctuation. As part of the revision process students must learn to take an in depth look at their writing from all three perspectives.

To begin, students should pick a paragraph from their writing and number each sentence. Next they should count and record the number of words in each sentence. They can make a graph or just make a list. What the student discovers will provide opportunities to coach the student to become a better writer. For example, if a student has only two sentences with a large word count, it’s time to talk about run-on sentences. Ask the student to think about where and how to make the long sentences into shorter but meaningful sentences. If the student has many sentences with low word counts, you may want to talk about where and how to add details, or about fragments. What is missing to make this phrase a sentence? When students have several sentences with consistently the same number of words, you can talk about adding details, combining sentences, adding sounds or emotions. The main goal is to have sentence variety.

Next, ask the students to look at the end punctuation of each sentence. Are they all the same? What are some ways to vary the end punctuation? Is there a place to add a command (Look out!), a sound (Bam!), a question (What was that?). Varying the types of sentences will influence sentence variety as well.

Lastly, ask the students to write down the beginning word of each sentence. Use tally marks when more than one sentence starts with the same word. When the data collection is complete, what is it saying to the writer? Do students need to think of different ways to replace a word (the)? At this point, it may be helpful to form small groups of students that are working on replacing the same words. Students can brainstorm possible word choices or read the sentences and have the group provide suggestions for different ways to start the sentence.

Using these three focus areas during revision time allows the teacher to individualize instruction. Students can focus on one area at a time or do all three cumulatively. The graphic at the top of the page is a tool that can be used to help students self reflect on their writing. Working through this process will make it automatic and strengthen their writing over time.