Writing Clear Sentences
IntroducedDecide the relationship, then choose the structure
- Most unclear sentences are not grammatical failures — they are ranking failures.
- Two ideas were joined without a decision about which one mattered more.
- Decide the relationship first, and the structure follows.
Two ideas squeezed into one sentence still need to know which one walks through the door first.
Which structure to use
- If two ideas genuinely carry equal weight, coordinate them.
- If one is a concession and the other your point, subordinate the concession.
- Put your point in the independent clause, where the emphasis falls.
Your own point belongs in the...
The independent clause is the emphatic position; subordinating your point concedes it.
Ending on the word that matters
- The end of a sentence is its second emphatic position.
- A sentence that ends on a qualification buries its own point.
- A sentence that ends on the point leaves the reader holding it.
What has this sentence got wrong?
Diagnose each sentence by its ranking failure.
The end of a sentence is a position of emphasis.
A sentence that ends on a qualification buries its own point.
Match each relationship to the structure that expresses it.
Decide the relationship first; the structure is then determined.
Subordinating your own point concedes your argument by accident. "Although the results are clear, the programme is expensive" ranks the cost above the result — which is almost certainly the opposite of what the writer meant.
Select all the ranking failures this lesson names.
A semicolon is a tool, not a failure — it coordinates.
Three ranking failures
- Coordinating a concession with your point — the reader cannot tell which you mean.
- Subordinating your own point — you conceded your argument by accident.
- Stacking three subordinate clauses before the main one — the reader arrives exhausted.
For a two-part sentence, ask which half you would keep if you could keep only ____.
That half belongs in the independent clause.
A sentence check
- For any two-part sentence, ask: which half would I keep if I could keep only one?
- That half belongs in the independent clause.
- If the answer is "both equally", coordinate — and check that you meant it.
Meant: the results matter more. Written: "Although the results are clear, the programme is expensive." Fixed: "Although the programme is expensive, the results are clear." One swap, and the sentence now says what the writer meant.
Decide the relationship before the structure. Coordinate genuine equals, subordinate the concession, and put your point in the independent clause. End on the word that matters, and check any two-part sentence by asking which half you would keep.