Varying sentence structure and length can help you maintain your readers' interest and create emphasis, both of which are essential to forceful, effective writing.

There is no rule that a sentence has to begin with a subject, followed by a verb, followed by modifiers. There are several patterns you can use to make your writing more emphatic and interesting.

Begin with an adverb.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Suddenly, the dolphin leaped out of the water and touched my outstretched hand.

Far from our main camp, we found an old cabin where we took shelter.

Begin with an infinitive.

An infinitive is the basic form of the verb preceded by the preposition to.

To complete his associate's degree, John would have to pass math.

To decide whether someone should be sentenced to death is an awesome responsibility.

Begin with a preposition or a prepositional phrase.

Prepositions connect or show relationships between nouns or pronouns and the rest of the sentence. Prepositional phrases, which contain a preposition, a noun or pronoun, and any other words that modify the noun or pronoun can be used to begin a sentence.

At the base of a large oak we spotted the carcass of a deer.

With the help of four of his largest friends, Patrick lifted the rear of his old Buick.

Begin or end with a participle or participial phrase.

A participle is a verb turned into an adjective. Participles end in -ed, -ing, -d, -t, or -n. A participial phrase is a group of words containing a participle.

Tired from a long day of driving, Janice pulled into a Holiday Inn at Exit 39.

Running across the muddy field, I lost both of my shoes.

Marcia smiled at her six-year-old, the boy singing a solo in the school pageant.

Begin with an adjective.

Adjectives, which describe nouns an pronouns, can make effective sentence openers.

Exhausted, the soldiers fell into their foxholes.

Distinct from other houses on Main Street, the Filmore mansion had seven large gables and a large wrap-around porch.

Reverse the position of the subject and the verb.

Putting the verb before the subject varies the typical subject + verb + modifiers pattern.

Verb -----------------Subject------------------------------
On the island of Rhodes stood one of Wonders of the Ancient World: the Colossus.

Verb ------------------------Subject--------------------------------
Inside the cave were several thousand bats and an old Volkswagen.

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Use a colon.

Place a colon after an independent clause to introduce information that names or explains something in that clause.

There is only one planet that contains enough oxygen to sustain life: Earth.

In my backpack were several tools: a small shovel, an ax, and a can opener.

A steady flow of sentences of the same length can put your readers to sleep, so vary the length of your sentences. You can combine short, choppy sentences by using coordination and subordination. Coordination allows you to combine ideas of equal weight into one sentence. Subordination allows you to emphasize one idea over another by expressing the less important one in a subordinate clause or in a phrase.

Choppy:
In the second century B. C., the Mongols sailed across the Straits of Korea. They invaded Japan. They brought with them many ancient customs and beliefs. Their most important contribution was the Shinto religion.

Combined:
In the second century B. C., the Mongols sailed across the Straits of Korea, and they invaded Japan. They brought with them many ancient customs and beliefs, but their most important contribution was the Shinto religion.

Choppy:
Archimedes was a scientist, mathematician, and inventor. He helped develop techniques for building that are still used by engineers today. He was born in 287 B.C. in the Greek city of Syracuse. Syracuse is located in southeastern Sicily.

Combined:
Archimedes was a scientist, mathematician, and inventor, who helped develop techniques for building that are still used by engineers today. He was born in 287 B.C. in the Greek city of Syracuse, which is located in southeastern Sicily.

Cumulative sentences begin with a main idea and then add clarifying information in the phrases and clauses that follow.

At Runnymede in the year 1215, King John of England signed the Magna Carta, a momentous document that forever limited the power of the English monarchy.

Unlike cumulative sentences, periodic sentences delay the completion of the main idea until the sentence's end, where emphasis is placed. Notice the use of this technique in one of the most memorable lines in the U.S. Declaration of Independence:

"And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Use rhetorical questions.

Rhetorical questions—to which the answer is obvious and to which no response is expected—can help to create both interest and variety. Note that this paragraph ends with a rhetorical question.

We are bombarded daily by television advertisements featuring high-fat, high-calorie foods like hamburgers, french fries, tacos, and pizza. We drive by giant billboards enticing us to eat ice cream, pastries, and other sweets. We sit in movie theaters where, before every film, we are reminded to visit the refreshment stand and to stock up on candy, soda, potato chips, and, of course, popcorn saturated in butter. For dessert, most of us choose pies or hot-fudge sundaes, not fresh fruit. Is it any wonder that forty percent of the Canadian population is obese?