A Throwback to Diagramming Elections Past

 

Some language experts I follow on Twitter, including @Fritinancy, were tweeting recently about a 2008 article by sentence-diagrammer extraordinaire Kitty Burns Florey, author of "Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: A History of Diagramming Sentences." In the Slate piece, Florey diagrams some of the sentences of then-vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.

Regardless of where you stand on Palin, the article's well worth your time. For one thing, it lends insight into the art of diagramming, which itself lends insight into the mechanics of sentences. But most of all, it's just a shining example of really good writing. Here it is if you want to check it out.

If you want to know more about sentence diagramming, I've never seen a better resource than Florey's "Sister Bernadette's" book.

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