1.4. Effective Sentences

A sentence may be perfectly clear and grammatically correct without being effective. Most effective sentences not only communicate simple facts and ideas, they bring together a number of facts and ideas in ways that show the relationship among them. Such sentences enable the writer to knit into the basic subject-verb-object pattern of a sentence the modifiers that give interest and full meaning to ideas. And the skillful use of such sentences together, in carefully thought out sequence, allows us to express our meaning more exactly.

Most effective sentences bring together two or more ideas that they relate to one another by coordination or subordination. Broadly, coordination expresses equality: two things that are coordinate have roughly the same importance, the same rank, and the same value. Subordination expresses some sort of inequality: when one thing is subordinate, or dependent, upon another, it is in some way of lesser importance or rank or value.

Grammatically, words and groups of words joined by and, but, or, and other coordinating words are said to be coordinate. Groups of words and whole sentences that have the same construction are also coordinate. When we put our ideas in coordinate constructions, we indicate that they are roughly equal in weight and meaning. Modifying words, phrases, and clauses are gramma­tically subordinate. Though they are frequently vital to the full meaning of a sentence, we indicate by subordinating them that they are less important to our meaning than other parts of the sentence. Effective sentences depend heavily upon the careful arrangement of both coordination and subordination, for these are the means by which we knit together major and miner ideas into clear and coherent units.

In many sentences, determining which ideas to place in a main clause and which to subordinate depends entirely on context. There is no way of determining, aside from context, which of the versions is the better sentence.

But in many sentences, the logic of normal expectation gets broken. The main ideas or more important ones are subordinated to lesser ideas. Such sentences are said to have 'upside-down' subordination and can't be considered effective. In constructing sentences avoid excessive subordination too. Unessential details in your sentences make your reader lose sight of the points you are trying to make.

Effectiveness can also be achieved with relatively simple modifications of word order. Remember, however, that word order is closely associated with meaning and emphasis and that shifts in order will lend slightly different shades of meaning to the whole sentence. The decision about what, if any, variation to use in a particular context must depend upon the total meaning you wish to express and upon the relation of the individual sentence to the sentences that stand before and after. The principal ways of varying sentences are outlined below.

1. Possibilities of varying the beginnings of sentences.

It is common knowledge that more than half the sentences in most good English writing begin with the Subject.

Possible variants:

(1) Begin your sentence with a Prepositional Phrase.

(2) Begin your sentence with a Verbal Phrase.

(3) Begin your sentence with 'there'.

(4) Begin your sentence with a Subordinate Clause.

(5) Begin your sentence with a Coordinating Conjunction.

A sentence beginning with a coordinating conjunction usually depends for meaning on the preceding sentence.

2. Possibilities of varying the normal subject-verb-object pattern of sentences.

The subject-verb-object pattern of the English sentence is so strongly established that shifts in its order are likely to produce heavy emphasis. They must therefore be used with caution.

1. Subject-Verb pattern. Verb-Subject pattern.

2. Subject-Verb-Object pattern. Object-Subject-Verb pattern.

3. Subject-Verb-Complement pattern. Complement-Subject-Verb pattern.

3. Possibilities of varying the usual declarative statements by using more effective organization of material in your composition – question-and-answer pat­tern or a series of interrogative or imperative sentences.

There are other ways of making sentences effective. Here are some of them:

1. Place important words at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Generally, the most emphatic place in a sentence is its ending; the next most emphatic, its beginning; the least emphatic, its middle.

Phrases such as in my opinion, by and large, for the most part, and the like often weaken emphasis when they come at the beginning or end of a sentence. Often the sentence will be stronger if they are simply omitted. If these phrases are necessary for accuracy, it is usually better to place them inside the sentence.

2. Arrange items in a series in order of importance.

When words or ideas are in a series, they should be arranged in order of increasing importance. Thus if you say: She is young, wealthy, and intelligent, you suggest to a reader that you value intelligence most highly. The meaning for your reader will be different if you say: She is intelligent, young, and wealthy.

3. Prefer the active voice to the passive voice.

The passive voice has its uses, and when you need it, you should of course use it. But the active is almost always more direct, more forceful, and more economical. Always prefer it to the passive unless you have good reason not to.