As a non-native speaker who writes in English for work, I have always compared my texts with native speakers’ productions and most times I would ask myself why was it so evident that the latter ones were written by a native and mine weren’t. It was never a matter of vocabulary, nor was it a matter of grammar, nor length of the sentences—in Italian we tend to use a lot of subordinates, unlike the Anglo-Saxons—but instead it felt like I was misplacing something, like the rhythm wasn’t matching.
However, it wasn’t before my first year of MA’s degree that I found out what I was missing out. It was the end weight rule. Did you know this one? If you don’t, let’s have a look at it together. According to this rule, the most critical or impactful information of a sentence should be placed at the end of the period, and that the subject of the phrase should never, ever be longer than the predicate. Just to be sure we are on the same page, the predicate—Ludwig says—is “the part of a sentence or clause that contains a verb and states something about the subject.”. It is called the ‘end weight’ rule because it is assumed that words have a metaphorical weight, and that the words holding the most important concept for the sentence are supposedly ‘heavier’ than those that don’t.
Why do we weigh our sentences?
The End Weight Rule has its roots in the study of syntax and sentence structure. Linguistics scholars demonstrated the natural attitude of readers to think of greater importance to information positioned at the end of a sentence. This tendency is deeply connected with the way our brains process language, and the end-weight is a rule that ideally draws your mind through the flow of concept in the most fluent way possible.
While writing, It is never too easy to remember that the reader needs to be guided through your stream of consciousness. Oftentimes writers fall in the ingenuity of giving out to the readers too much information, and that’s because they’re afraid they may not understand. And yet, the best thing an author could do for their reader is not to dump as much information as possible, is to organise them efficiently and clearly, and in English that translates into using the end-weight rule.
How do we weigh our sentences?
Placing essential information at the end of the sentence: the start of a sentence sets the stage, introducing the reader to the subject and context. It must be quick, autonomous and direct: we must know right from the start what the subject is. Then, as the sentence unfolds, the brain that was already given the necessary information, can keep unfolding the unravelling mystery of the sentence, unfolding before their eyes.
End Weight can be particularly skillful in narrative and essays. By locking the core of the argument at the end, you can build a climatic crescendo, keeping the reader hooked to the sentence until the end of it, where they find the information they were waiting for. Plus, things placed at the end are naturally emphasised in their meaning.
Cut it short
Plus, a good end weight goes hand in hand with the rule ‘subject short, predicate long’: the subject of the sentence should never be longer than the rest of the phrase. If your subject is too long, people will forget what you were talking about before they arrive at the full stop.
Let’s have some examples:
Here’s a very convoluted, unbalanced sentence:
The fact that Charlie and the woman she was supposed to meet the other day but ditched her ten minutes before the meeting haven’t managed yet to catch up is quite upsetting.
To fix it, we could twist it thus:
Charlie hasn’t managed to catch up yet with the woman she was supposed to meet the other day but ditched her ten minutes before the meeting and It is quite upsetting.
Here, the subject has been changed to a short and direct “Charlie”, which is way shorter than “Charlie and the woman she was supposed to meet the other day but ditched her ten minutes before the meeting”, plus the emotional factor “it is quite upsetting” has been shifted to the end of the sentence to keep reader hooked better and make them finish the period until the very last letter. Gotcha!
When do we weigh our sentences?
Well, most of the time, whenever you need your words to generate some impact on the target audience. Considering the natural flow of information is important to be able to internalise the end weight structure. How do I want to learn something? Realistically, I would like to know first the key elements of the argument (what are we talking about on general note) and then I’d love to know why we are talking about it (the hype part).
That’s exactly how the end weight works, if you think about it: a shorter subject that helps you focus the target topic, then the climatic peak leads you to the end, where you find what is it all about.
Of course, there are situations in which end weight can be avoided. For instance, if you want to exaggerate a sense of stream of consciousness, or when you want to give out a feeling of comical relief. In that case, the effect is completely the opposite of what the end weight rule is about, and it is exactly for that reason that it usually makes people giggle: elongated, convoluted prefaces that seem to be leading somewhere, while they actually take you completely somewhere else can be very, very funny.
In the austere world of English writing, the end weight rule can be a powerful ally to understand yourself as a writer: what are your priorities? What do you want to convey to others, more than anything else?
By understanding the mechanics of this rule and applying it judiciously, you may be able to lose less time on adjusting your prose and use more of your energies to develop and empower your ideas. Plus, if you need a helping hand with weak grammar or messy prose, you know that team Ludwig is always going to be there for you.
Cheers!
