The phrase "a first distinction is" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when introducing an initial difference or categorization in a discussion or analysis.
Example: "A first distinction is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research methods."
Alternatives: "An initial distinction is" or "The primary distinction is".
A first distinction is between continuous and discrete scales.
Based on the context of rehabilitation, a first distinction is made between patients who received rehabilitation care in a rehabilitation centre (12 rehabilitation centres; n=1000) versus patients enrolled from the hospital (6 hospitals; n=500).
A first distinction is between methods that aim at estimating realized genomic relationships [or proportion of identical by state (IBS) (VanRaden 2007; Yang et al. 2010)] and those that attempt to estimate probability of sharing alleles due to inheritance from a known common ancestor [or probability of identical by descent (IBD)].
A second distinction is between hermeneutic and revolutionary fictionalism.[1] Hermeneutic fictionalism about a discourse D is a thesis about the actual nature of the discourse: according to hermeneutic fictionalism we actually do not aim at the literal truth but only appear or pretend to do so.
A second distinction is between direct victims, who have suffered direct effects such as killing, abuse and detention, and indirect victims.
A second distinction is between the level of a life worth starting (for an individual who does not yet exist) and the level of a life worth continuing (for an existing individual) (Benatar 2006, 22 23).
Recorded in just a month with only three musicians, its first distinction is that Emmylou wrote 11 of the 13 songs.
The first distinction is made within the group involving a partner: marriage, cohabitation, and dating.
So Haidt's first distinction is between what he calls mind and body.
The first distinction is between percutaneous valvuloplasty and CABG.
Options in pedagogic relations are mapped in Figs. 3 and 4. In INTERACT systems, the first distinction is between interacts available to learners and teachers.
