To get suspense in the structure of a sentence:
— Begin with modifiers — adjectives, adverbs — or noun clauses.
— Begin with an accumulation of subject nouns (and noun phrases or clauses)
with or without modifiers.
— Begin with nominative absolutes.
— Begin with direct objects.
— Put modifiers or appositives between the subject noun and the predicate verb.
A loose sentence is the opposite of a suspense sentence. It is a sentence of some
length that could be stopped by a period a good deal before its end.
A loose sentence is not inferior to a suspense sentence and may be every bit as
soundly and as artfully constructed. The loose sentence is the backbone of most
writing. Only when it is used over and over again without the relief of an occasion-
al suspense sentence is it bad.
Emphasis in the paragraph
Ordinarily, place an important idea at the beginning or the end of a paragraph.
Put a series of ideas within a paragraph in the order of climax — least important or
interesting, more important or interesting, and so on.
When applying the above to a paragraph that begins with a topic sentence, use the
order of climax in the sentences that follow the topic sentence — insofar as it is
reasonable to do so.
Occasionally emphasize an important idea by repeating it within a paragraph. Ordi-
narily repeat it in somewhat different words; rarely, in the very same words.
Occasionally put the idea that you wish to emphasize into a very brief sentence, and
all the other ideas into rather long sentences. Place the brief sentence at the be-
ginning or, often better, at the end of the paragraph. The difference in the length of
the sentences will call attention sharply to the idea in the short one.
Make clear the relative importance of thoughts in a theme.
Give the most important thoughts the most space, the less important thoughts less
space, and so on.
It sometimes happens that an important idea is so persuasive and so easy to under-
stand in itself that to give it fuller treatment than less important ideas would be
to blow it up with empty verbiage. When this happens, use some other emphasis
device.
The introduction and the conclusion should be short in comparison with the body of
the theme. In general, make the introduction and conclusion together one third or
less of the whole theme.
