Writing sentences

Most people, even prolific authors, have difficulty constructing sentences to convey their intended meaning. It's a question of selecting the most suitable vocabulary, following the rules of grammar, and finding the best word order to make the sentence flow.

Here are some tips for writing sentences:

Rule No.1 - Just write! Get your ideas down on paper. Do not get bogged down with sentence construction before you have even completed the first section of your document. It is hard enough to get started with a writing task anyway!
Avoid leaving it to the last minute to write an important document. If you do this you will likely fail to write good sentences. It will be a case of reading your own work when it is too late and thinking "why did I write that!".
Take a look at the tips on Good Grammar. It is often a case that the habits people have in starting a sentence makes it difficult to finish.
Keeping your sentences short is the best and easiest tip to follow. Instead of putting an idea into one long sentence, try to put it into two. The recommended maximum length of a sentence is 20 words. Generally, if a sentence is longer than 15 words it is poorly constructed. (see example 1 )
Look for unnecessary words in sentences you write. It is often the case that your first attempt to write a sentence results in the inclusion of words that have little value to the overall meaning. (see example 2 )

Example 1: Break sentence into two

Here is an example of a long sentence written by a student. It has 53 words.

"Government funding is one of the major sources of income that keep the sport and recreation industry alive other than the funds that the industry receives from the government would have to rely so much on sponsors for money that the small business and local clubs and organisation would slowly just fade away."

This sentence could be broken into two as follows:

"Government funding and sponsorship are major sources of income for sport and recreation organisations. Income from these two sources helps to keep clubs and organisations from fading away."

Example 2: Remove unnecessary words

Here is an example of a long sentence written by a student. It has 24 words.

"However, putting that aside, Marist Swimming Club has several strategies that the club has adopted to promote itself better and in a broader context." (24 words)

Removing unnecessary words the sentence becomes.

"However, Marist Swimming Club has adopted several strategies to promote itself better." (12 words)