The basic sentence in English is noun-verb-object: The player hit the ball. But we seldom leave it at that. We add things on the front. We add things on the back. We interrupt the sentence to say something else, and then come back to the sentence. We vary the basic sentence structure. And, in the most extreme cases, we substitute other things for the noun, the verb, and the object. All of this gives us great flexibility in creating sentences, but this very flexibility leads us to the problem of which variation to choose, and why.
Let's look at introductory elements. Placing an introduction on the front of the basic sentence can do some important things. It can tell the reader when the sentence occurred or applies:
- At the bottom of the ninth, the player hit the ball.
- After tone adjustment, the screen displays more accurate colors.
- When you receive this error message, click OK.
An introduction can tell the reader how much credence to give the information:
- Supposedly, the player hit the ball.
- As we all agreed, the large type was more readable.
- In every case, the deadlines were met.
Introductory elements can provide a transition from the previous idea or concept to the next one:
- We all expected the game to end with the next pitch. However, the player hit the ball.
- The default setting is 12-point Roman, nevertheless, Arial is the preferred typeface.
An introduction should not present information that the reader cannot use or interpret before reading the rest of the sentence:
- In the File, Insert, View, and Tools menus displayed at the top of the screen by default when the default settings are in effect, side menus are present.
Here the reader has to absorb an entire list and a condition before knowing why these are being listed. Instead, put the explanatory information first, and then the list:
- Side menus appear in the File, Insert, View, and Tools menus.
Some of the information that was supposedly introductory was actually worthy of a sentence of its own:
- These menus are displayed at the top of the screen when the default settings are in effect.
Remember that introductory elements have specific purposes, and avoid using them to do the work of presenting the bulk of the information in your writing. Use sentences for that!
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