A sentence consists of
more than its subjects and verbs, more than its characters and
actions. At a "higher" level of analysis, a sentence
also consists of bundles of information. Some bundles are small
and easily unpacked for their information; others are long and
complex, and readers have to work harder to unpack them.
In the example below, the writer has arranged his bundles of
information so that a reader has to unpack the largest and
most complex bundle
first, and the smaller bundles last (subjects are underlined, verbs
are boldfaced):
At Hunter LAN Technologies,
provision to customers in a timely
fashion of technically accurate,
readable information about products is our goal.
Toward that end, the procedures
detailed below for the creation
and updating of printed documentation have been developed.
Most readers find that pattern hard to follow: it's better to start
with smaller, less complex bundles. Readers process complex units
of information most easily when they appear toward the end of the
sentence:
At Hunter LAN Technologies,
our goal is to provide technically accurate, readable information
about our products to our customers in a timely fashion.
Toward that end, we have developed the procedures outlined below
for creating and updating our printed documentation.
Put short bundles of information before long bundles of information.
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