Why do we start at the sentence level with writing?

By Heather Down 23 September 2025

Whenever I am teaching a new student in my practice, chances are I am not just teaching them reading, but also writing. As Pam Allym (2014) says, “reading is breathing in, writing is breathing out”. The two areas are interconnected, and I wouldn’t see myself as a good teacher if I were not teaching both. Generally, I find that after doing a literacy assessment, most students do not know how to write a coherent sentence. Therefore, starting with sentence-level learning for all my students provides clear boundaries for young or struggling writers.

I endeavor to teach them that a sentence is a manageable unit of thought, that it is the smallest complete idea in writing. It’s important to me to give students the chance to practice at the sentence level, as this can support them to practise forming and finishing ideas before juggling longer pieces.

Starting at the sentence level prevents overwhelm. If students jump straight into paragraphs or stories, this can overload working memory (Sweller, 1988 – Cognitive Load Theory). Therefore, short, concise sentence practice offers a focused way to practise syntax, punctuation, and capitalisation without excess cognitive demand.

Beginning at the sentence level builds a strong foundation. Mastering sentence construction is essential for accurate grammar, cohesion, and more complex writing tasks later. It provides the layers in which to build as students progress through a writing framework.

Finally, starting with the sentence supports equity. For learners with dyslexia or other language-based difficulties, or learners who are encountering English as a second language, sentence-level work is explicit, structured, and confidence-building.

The Four Types of Sentences

I generally begin by teaching the four types of sentences. I draw inspiration from The Writing Revolution here, as well as The Syntax Project. I find that students are surprised when they learn that there are actually only four types of sentence; these are the statement, the question, the exclamation, and the command. These create the building blocks for paragraphs.

1. Statement (Declarative)

The purpose of the statement is to give the reader information by stating a fact. It ends with a full stop, and always begins with a capital letter. For example;

The jetboat travels fast.
The kiwi is native to New Zealand.
Mum brought the groceries in from the car and put them away.

2. Question (Interrogative)

The purpose of the question is to ask for information. It ends with a question mark, and always begins with a capital letter. For example;

Why is the jetboat travelling so fast?
What are we having for dinner?
“Mum, did you get bread with the shopping?”

3. Exclamation (Exclamatory)

The purpose of the exclamation is to show a strong feeling such as surprise, excitement, or fear. It ends with an exclamation mark, and always begins with a capital letter. For example;

What an enormous wave!
Oh wow, I LOVE this song!
You look beautiful today!

4. Command (Imperative)

The purpose of the command is to tell someone to do something. It usually ends with a full stop, but sometimes with an exclamation mark. Like all other sentences, it always begins with a capital letter. For example;

Close the door.
Stop that!
Pick up the rubbish.
Clean your room!

Teaching suggestions

You can begin teaching this by working in some dialogue. Try asking students this:

“Did you know that an essay is really just a bunch of sentences, organised into paragraphs? And each paragraph is just a bunch of sentences about one topic. That doesn’t sound too scary, does it?

Here’s the interesting part: there are actually only four types of sentences. Once you know them, you can mix and match them to write anything, from a short note to a full essay. Let me show you what they are.”

I then explain the four types of sentences, providing examples. Then I show students one sentence type, and together we write the different types from this one base sentence.

For example:

Statement: I see my dog.

Question: Do you see my dog?

Exclamation: There is my dog!

Command: Get my dog.

You can do this a couple of times with different sentences, then you can let students have a go with this themselves. I find it is always useful to provide the first sentence:

Statement: Coffee originated in Ethiopia.

Question: ________________________

Exclamation: _____________________

Command: _______________________

Possible answers:

Did you know coffee originated in Ethiopia?

I love coffee!

Bring me my coffee.

Ensure you are weaving in reminders to start with a capital letter and finish with appropriate punctuation. You can choose your starter sentences based on the phoneme/grapheme correspondence you are teaching or the morphology element. Using this strategy, we are able to build in repetitions and language to cement learning.

Text at the center

One of the things I am very passionate about using is the text we are reading to support writing. As mentioned at the very beginning of this blog post, as Pam Allym (2014) says, “reading is breathing in, writing is breathing out”. The two areas are interconnected. Therefore, to take this further, use the text you are introducing to your students with your phoneme/grapheme or morphology concept to cement your writing learning.

For example, if I am teaching consonant le I might use a text like the following, which is authentic, and has a few consonant le (open syllable and closed syllable) consonant le words peppered through:

Peter Beck’s Rocket Table (Year 3–4 level)

Peter Beck is from New Zealand. When he was young, he liked to make things. He did not go to university, but he was able to build and test machines at home. He once made a rocket engine on his own work table.

The problem was that rockets were too big, too heavy, and cost too much. Only a few countries were able to send rockets into space. Most people had to sidle away from their dream because it was not stable or fair.

Peter did not give up. He had a simple but noble idea. What if rockets were small, light, and cheap? He worked hard to design and create them. His company, Rocket Lab, made rockets that could carry small satellites into space.

This solution changed things. Now, schools, farmers, and even small businesses can use space to solve problems. Satellites can help with maps, weather, and cables for the internet.

Peter Beck’s story is like a fable. It shows that one person at a table with an idea can change the world.

We can then create sentence-level writing work like this:

Statement: Peter made a rocket at his own work table.
Question: What did Peter create at the work table?
Exclamation: Peter was a noble inventor!
Command: Don’t give up, Peter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, by beginning at the sentence level, we give students a safe and structured way to breathe in through reading and breathe out through writing, one clear thought at a time, until they are ready to build whole paragraphs and, eventually, full essays.