Write for Business - Blog

Sentences may be arranged in four basic ways, each creating a different emphasis.

• The loose sentence places the main point at the beginning and then adds the explanatory material. For example, if you wanted to address a current problem in the office - such as workers opening windows when the air conditioning or heat is running - you could start with that main idea and follow with supporting details:

  Open office windows can create many problems, including higher heating and cooling costs, distracting street noise or pollution, and some potentially dangerous situations.

• The cumulative sentence presents the main idea somewhere in the middle, with explanatory material before and after.

  While it may seem a harmless situation, open office windows can create problems, not the least of which is the potential for birds and other animals to enter the building.

• The periodic sentence presents supporting details first, saving the main idea for the end.

  Considering the potential for increased costs, pollution, noise, and animal invasion, management asks that office windows remain closed.

• The balanced sentence is built to emphasize a similarity or contrast between two or more of its parts.

  Everyone has agreed that keeping the office windows closed will reduce heating and cooling costs and create a quieter, safer work environment.

Try to use a variety of these sentence arrangements to improve the flow of your writing.

You can learn more about sentences on pages 258-264 in Write for Business: A Compact Guide to Writing and Communicating in the Workplace, just one of the many helpful business writing materials from UpWrite Press.

- Joyce Lee

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