Most business writers don’t consider sentence structure. There is an understanding that a sentence should have a subject, verb and object, but that’s about it. Yet there are many types of sentence structures; varying their style and length can lead to better writing.
Sentences can be simple (one main thought), compound (two main thoughts), complex (one main thought and one subordinate thought) or compound-complex (two or more complex structures). The effective business writer should feel comfortable experimenting with different styles. Here are some examples.
Simple Sentence: Kevin’s promotion appeared in the Globe and Mail.
Compound Sentence: Kevin’s promotion appeared in the Globe and Mail while he was on vacation.
Complex Sentence: Kevin’s promotion appeared in the Globe and Mail, though the writer omitted a key point about his educational background.
Compound-Complex Sentence: Kevin’s promotion appeared in the Globe and Mail, though the writer omitted a key point, and his company’s stock rose the same day, surprising the analysts.
These sentences are the building blocks of paragraphs. However, there are many unique forms and types of sentences that can be used to spice up your business writing. Instead of falling into the trap of writing the same kinds of sentences, try to integrate some of these examples into your correspondence.
(i) The Head-on Sentence. This type of sentence is structured so that the main point appears at the front, backed up by subordinate information.
Example: The product must be priced correctly because regulators are paying careful attention to higher pharmaceutical costs across the country.
(ii) The Build-Up Sentence. The approach here is to suspend the main idea until the end of the sentence in order to draw your reader along to an emphatic conclusion.
Example: After conducting extensive research, comparing our product to other similar examples in the marketplace and discussing treatment options with leading physicians, we conclude that the pricing is appropriate.
(iii) The Rhetorical Question. This type of sentence, which poses a question that requires no specific response, can help focus your reader’s attention on a certain problem or issue. It can also help introduce your own ideas as a writer or company representative.
Example: Will the need for our products simply evaporate if Health Canada does not permit funding? Physicians consistently argue for a wide spectrum of treatment options and a continuum of care based on the individual patient.
(iv)The Reversed Sentence. A reversal of customary sentence order can introduce a new stylistic strategy to grab your reader’s attention.
Example: The following facts are indisputable – health care costs are rising, consumers are demanding more access to clinically proven drugs and physicians are seeking wider treatment options for their patients. (Customary Order)
That health care costs are rising, that consumers are demanding more access to clinically proven drugs, that physicians are seeking wider treatment options – these facts are indisputable. (Reversed Order)
(v) The Interrupted Sentence. Interrupting the normal flow of a sentence by inserting a comment or phrase can call attention to your aside.
Example: The study you referenced – if reliable and properly peer-reviewed in medical journals – still does not address our primary points about the product’s efficacy.
(vi) The Coordinated/Subordinated Sentence. The goal here is to coordinate or subordinate ideas to create different stylistic effects. Coordination promotes equal standing of the two ideas, while subordination tends to emphasize the main point.
Coordinated Example: During the remainder of the year, the company expects to issue $100 million of long-term debt and may guarantee up to $200 million of new corporate bonds.
Subordinated Example: Although the company expects to issue $100 million of long-term debt in the remainder of the year, it also may also guarantee up to $200 million of new corporate bonds.
(vii) The Parallel Structure. This sentence is one in which adjacent phrases and linked ideas are constructed in a similar fashion. Generally, the items in a series provide a natural rhythm.
Examples: These availability problems are of concern to regulators, to patients, to physicians – and to our company.
What interested us was the contrast between the theory and the practice, the research and the result, the disease and the cure.
(viii) The Minor Sentence. This is otherwise known as a fragment, or incomplete, sentence and can be used sparingly for effect.
Examples: Do we intend to pull the product off the shelves? Absolutely not.
What would we give for a few more employees like Tony? The world.
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