(1) Can you imagine paying a year’s salary for a single tulip bulb? (2) During the early 1600s, wealthy investors in Holland did
just that. (3) It was all part of a craze for tulips that became known as Tulip Mania. (4) Tulips, which were introduced to Europe in about 1550, seemed unusual to Europeans at that time. (5) Tulips had deeper, more intense colors than did flowers native to Europe. (6) Tulips therefore became highly prized. (7) Tulips’ popularity made tulips attractive to investors in Holland, where the economy was flourishing. (8) Tulip bulbs, the investors reasoned, would keep going up in price. (9) Tulip bulbs did not hold their high prices, however. (10) Tulip prices suddenly crashed in 1637. (11) Tulip bulbs that had sold for huge prices suddenly sold for much, much less. (12) Tulip Mania was over. Which is the most effective way to vary the sentences in the passage?
The most effective way to vary sentences in this paragraph would be to combine a few into complex sentences. They are all simple right now, so making them complex would help vary flow and diversity.
An example of how to do this can be found in combining sentences 8 and 9.
<span>Tulip bulbs, the investors reasoned, would keep going up in price. Tulip bulbs did not hold their high prices, however.
can be changed to:
Tulip bulbs, the investors reasoned, would keep going up in price, however, they did not hold their high prices. Adding a comma and conjunction word (however) creates a complex sentence. </span>
