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Lesson 5: The stress position keeps it interesting
In this fifth lesson of Clarity in Academic Writing, we'll learn how to end sentences consciously and powerfully.
The Stress Position
Readers naturally stress the end of the sentence. This stress position is the most important part of the sentence--it is where you present new information.
Readers expect to focus their energy and attention at the end of the sentence, so use this position wisely!
Photo by Chase Clark
Readers will focus on the end
Choose the most vital word and put a period after it; it ends the sentence.
End each sentence with words that lead you to the next point. This technique connects sentences together and creates flow.
What goes in the stress position depends on the point you wish to make next. The end of each sentence can be seen as a pearl.
Save your end-focus pearl for last
The when, where, and who can precede the what:
"In 2001, a lengthy longitudinal study at Y University led to recognition of a Z variant."
In this sentence, we meet when, how, and where before we finally meet the exciting what. The sentence leads us to this piece of new information and ends immediately after it. Here, we probably are already familiar with Z, so to let the pearl shine brightly, push the new item, variant, to the end.
Be more concise
If Z is already familiar information and if the type and location of the study are unimportant to the storyline, you can also opt for a shorter, more impactful passive voice:
"In 2001, a Z variant was recognized (reference)."
This alternative puts the focus on recognizing the new variant. It removes "a lengthy longitudinal study" from the topic position (was the reader already thinking about a longitudinal study – was that familiar information?). It puts the action back in the verb "recognize" (and removes the zombie noun recognition).
The study and university can easily be found in the reference and don't have to be explicitly stated unless you have a good reason.
More examples
- Here, we must apply parallelism and old to new:
The effect of drug X in children is unknown. In adults, however, evidence indicates that X frequently leads to
In adults, X frequently leads to diarrhea; whereas in children, its effect remains unknown.
- Here, we push the Nobel Prize to the end for emphasis:
She does fine work that may win her a Nobel Prize
She does fine work that, within a few years, may earn her a Nobel Prize.
Choosing the end focus (stress position) also determines your verb
Take these two alternatives:
- Over decades, Drug X has shown varying and often contradictory effects on Syndrome Y.
- Over decades, Drug X has affected Syndrome Y in different, and sometimes contradictory, ways.
Sentence 1 has a zombie noun and places the emphasis on Syndrome Y. Sentence 2 has a verb and places the emphasis on the ways in which the drug affected the syndrome.
What do you want the reader to focus on? The choice is yours.
“End your sentences on your rhetorically most salient, most powerful words.” (Williams, Style & Grace)
"Place the emphatic words of the sentence at the end." (Strunk & White, The Elements of Style)