Emphasis
Understanding how sentences end
1. A sciometric and actuarial analysis of Social Security revenues
and disbursements for the last six decades to determine
changes in projecting deficits is the subject of this study.
2. In this study, we analyze Social Security’s revenues and
disbursements for the last six decades, using sociometric and
actuarial criteria to determine changes in projecting deficits.
Which of these sentences is easier to understand?
Understanding how sentences end
1. A sciometric and actuarial analysis of Social Security revenues
and disbursements for the last six decades to determine
changes in projecting deficits is the subject of this study.
2. X In this study, we analyze Social Security’s revenues and
disbursements for the last six decades, using sociometric and
actuarial criteria to determine changes in projecting deficits.
Why?
Understanding how sentences end
1. A sciometric and actuarial analysis of Social Security revenues
and disbursements for the last six decades to determine
changes in projecting deficits is the subject of this study.
2. X In this study, we analyze Social Security’s revenues and
disbursements for the last six decades, using sociometric and
actuarial criteria to determine changes in projecting deficits.
Why?
• In sentence 1 hit the complexity at the beginning.
• In sentence 2 hit the complexity nearer the end when the
sentence has already gained momentum.
Complex Grammar
1. Lincoln’s claim that the Civil War was God’s punishment of
both North and South for slavery appears in the last part of
the speech.
2. In the last part of his speech, Lincoln claims that God gave the
Civil War to both North and South as punishment for slavery.
Which of these two sentences do you prefer?
Complex Grammar
1. Lincoln’s claim that the Civil War was God’s punishment of
both North and South for slavery appears in the last part of
the speech.
2. X In the last part of his speech, Lincoln claims that God gave
the Civil War to both North and South as punishment for
slavery.
Why?
Complex Grammar
1. Lincoln’s claim that the Civil War was God’s punishment of
both North and South for slavery appears in the last part of
the speech.
2. X In the last part of his speech, Lincoln claims that God gave
the Civil War to both North and South as punishment for
slavery.
Why?
• Sentence 2 begins simply and then moves towards
grammatical complexity rather than vice versa!
Complex Meaning
1. The role of calcium blocker drugs in the control of cardiac irregularity can
be seen through an understanding of the role of calcium in the activation
of muscle cells. The regulatory proteins actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and
troponin make up the sarcomere, the basic unit of muscle contraction.
ATPase, the energy producing protein myosin, makes up its thick
filament, while actin, tropomyosin, and troponin make up its thin
filament. Interaction of myosin and actin triggers muscle contraction.
2. When a muscle contracts it uses calcium. We must therefore understand
how calcium affects muscle cells to understand how cardiac irregularity is
controlled by drugs called “calcium blockers.” The basic unit of muscle
contraction is the sarcomere. It has two filaments, one thin and one
thick. Those filaments consist of four proteins that regulate contraction:
actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and troponin. Muscles contract when the
protein in the thin filament, actin, interacts with the protein myosin in
the thick filament, an energy-producing or ATPase protein.
Which of these two paragraphs do you prefer?
Complex Meaning
1. The role of calcium blocker drugs in the control of cardiac irregularity can
be seen through an understanding of the role of calcium in the activation
of muscle cells. The regulatory proteins actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and
troponin make up the sarcomere, the basic unit of muscle contraction.
ATPase, the energy producing protein myosin, makes up its thick
filament, while actin, tropomyosin, and troponin make up its thin
filament. Interaction of myosin and actin triggers muscle contraction.
2. X When a muscle contracts it uses calcium. We must therefore
understand how calcium affects muscle cells to understand how cardiac
irregularity is controlled by drugs called “calcium blockers.” The basic
unit of muscle contraction is the sarcomere. It has two filaments, one
thin and one thick. Those filaments consist of four proteins that regulate
contraction: actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and troponin. Muscles contract
when the protein in the thin filament, actin, interacts with the protein
myosin in the thick filament, an energy-producing or ATPase protein.
How the passages differ
• Implicit information in passage 1 is made explicit in passage 2.
1. . . .and troponin make up the sarcomere, the basic unit of
muscle contraction. ATPase, the energy producing protein
myosin, makes up its thick filament,. . .
2. X The basic unit of muscle contraction is the sarcomere. It
has two filaments, one thin and one thick.. . .
How the passages differ
• Technical information at the beginning of sentences in
passage 1.
- The role of calcium blocker drugs in the control of cardiac
irregularity can be seen through an understanding of the role
of calcium in the activation of muscle cells.
- The regularity proteins actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and
troponin make up the sarcomere, the basic unit of muscle
contraction.
- ATPase, the energy producing protein myosin, makes up
its thick filament, while actin, tropomyosin, and troponin
make up its thin filament.
- Interaction of myosin and actin triggers muscle contraction.
How the passages differ
• Moved technical information to end of sentences in passage 2.
- . . . uses calcium.
- . . . controlled by drugs called “calcium blockers”.
- . . . is the sacromere.
- . . . four proteins that regulate contraction: actin, myosin,
tropomyosin, and troponin.
- . . . in the thick filament, an energy-producing or ATPase
protein.
Here’s the point
• Use the end of sentences to help manage two kinds of
difficulty
- long and complex PHRASES and CLAUSES, and
- new information, particularly unfamiliar technical terms.
• In a sentence carry the reader from simplicity−→complexity.
One more new term: STRESS
If you end a sentence on words that carry little meaning, your
sentence will seem to end weakly.
• Global warming could raise sea levels to a point where much of the
world’s low-lying coastal areas would disappear, according to most
atmospheric scientists.
• X According to most atmospheric scientists, global warming could
raise sea levels to a point where much of the world’s low-lying
coastal areas would disappear.
Compare these passages
• The administration has blurred an issue central to nuclear arms
control, the issue of verification. Irresponsible charges, innuendo,
and leaks have submerged serious problems with Iranian compliance.
The objective, instead, should be not to exploit these concerns in
order to further poison our relations, repudiate existing agreements
or, worse still, terminate arms control altogether, but to insist on
compliance and clarify questionable behaviour.
• The issue of verification - so central to nuclear arms control - has
been blurred by the administration. Serious problems with Iranian
compliance have been submerged in irresponsible charges, innuendo,
and leaks. The objective, instead, should be to clarify questionable
behaviour and insist on compliance - not to exploit these concerns
in order to further poison our relations, repudiate existing
agreements, or, worse still, terminate arms control altogether.
How do the passages differ in emphasis?
Here’s the point
• You can look at the last few words for special emphasis.
• You can revise a sentence to emphasize particular words that
you want readers to hear stressed.
Diagnosis & Revision: 3 tactical revisions
• Trim the end
- Sociobiologists claim that our genes control our social
behaviour in the way we act in situations we are in every
day.
- X Sociobiologists claim that our genes control our social
behaviour.
• Shift peripheral ideas to the left
- The data offered to prove ESP are too weak, for the most
part.
- X For the most part, the data offered to prove ESP are too
weak.
Diagnosis & Revision: 3 tactical revisions
• Shift new information to the right
- Questions about the ethics of withdrawing intravenous
feeding are more difficult [than something just mentioned].
- X More difficult [than something just mentioned] are questions
about the ethics of withdrawing intravenous feeding.
Emphasis
Put key words in the stress position of the first sentence of a
passage in order to emphasize the key ideas in the rest of a
passage.
Here’s the point
• We depend on concepts running through a passage to create a
sense of coherence.
• Help readers to identify those concepts in two ways:
- Repeat some of them as topics of sentences, usually as
subjects.
- Repeat others as themes elsewhere in a passage, in nouns,
verbs, and adjectives.
Quick Tip
For a paragraph longer than five or six sentences:
• Underline the sentence that you think best introduces, sets
up, frames the rest of the paragraph.
- If you can’t do that quickly, your paragraph probably has a
problem!
- If you can: Circle the last six words of that introductory
segment.
? Those words should serve as the title of the paragraph.
? If they do not you may have a problem.
Summing up
• Use the end of a sentence to introduce long, complex or other
difficult-to-process material.
- A determination of involvement of lipid-linked
saccharides in the assembly of oligosaccharide chains of
ovalbumin is vivo was the principal aim of this study. In
vitro and in vivo studies untilizing oviduct membrane
preparations and oviduct slices and the antibiotic
tunicamycin were undertaken to accomplish this.
- X The principal aim of this study was to determine how
lipid-linked saccharides involved in the assembly of
oligosaccharide chains of ovalbumin in vivo. To accomplish
this, studies were undertaken in vitro and in vivo, utilizing
the antibiotic tunicamycin on preparations of oviduct
membrane and on oviduct slices.
Summing up
• Use the stress position at the very end to emphasize words
that you want your readers to hear emphasized in their minds’
ear:
- The administration has blurred an issue central to arms
control, the issue of verification. Irresponsible charges,
innuendo, and leaks have submerged serious problems with
Iranian compliance.
- X The issues of verification - so central to arms control - has
been blurred by the administration. Serious problems with
Iranian compliance have been submerged in irresponsible
charges, innuendo, and leaks.
Summing up
• Use the stress of a sentence introducing a passage to
announce the key concepts the rest of the passage will
develop:
- In recent years, researchers have made great strides in the early
and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, but those
diagnoses have raised A NEW PROBLEM about INFORMING
THOSE MOST AT RISK WHO SHOW NO SYMPTOMS OF
IT. Not too long ago, when a physician examined an older
patient who seemed out of touch with reality, she had to guess
whether that person was senile or had Alzheimer’s. In the past
few years, however, they have been able to use new and more
reliable tests focusing on genetic clues. But in the accuracy
of these new tests lies the RISK OF ANOTHER KIND OF
HUMAN TRAGEDY: physicians may be able to predict
Alzheimer’s long before its overt appearance, but such an early
diagnosis could PSYCHOLOGICALLY DEVASTATE AN
APPARENTLY HEALTHY PERSON.