Diction & style

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases into sentences.

Syntax concerns how a sentence is built—its length, order, and structure—and how that shape affects rhythm and meaning. Writers vary syntax to create pace, emphasis, or a particular voice, from clipped fragments to sprawling clauses. Where a word falls can change how it lands.

Example

Faulkner’s tangled, run-on syntax in the early sections mirrors a disordered mind, making sentence structure itself carry the meaning.

The Sound and the Fury · William Faulkner

Related terms

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