The Stress Position

Contemporary readers of English expect to find the most important information of a sentence located in a Stress position.

1a A gross violation of academic responsibility is required to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause, and an elaborate hearing procedure with a prior statement of specific charges is provided for before a tenured faculty member may be dismissed for cause.

A gross violation of academic responsibility

This is the substantive action of the faculty member that must be proved if the university wants to pursue dismissal.

to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause

This is the severe action the university might wish to take.

an elaborate hearing procedure

This is a procedure the university must offer in order to end the contract.

a prior statement of specific charges

This is a prior part of the same procedure. This is confusing because

the second procedural act must be completed before the first one.

to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause.

This is a repetition of chunk #2.

1b In order for a university to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause, …

1c In order to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause, a university, after presenting the charges and through conducting an elaborate hearing, must demonstrate a gross violation of academic responsibility.

1d In order to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause, a university must demonstrate a gross violation of academic responsibility.

1e Even when a gross violation of academic responsibility has been demonstrated, a university may still not dismiss a tenured faculty member until it …

1e Even when a gross violation of academic responsibility has been demonstrated, a university may still not dismiss a tenured faculty member until it (1) formally makes the faculty member aware of the specific charges, and (2) provides an elaborate hearing.

1e Even when a gross violation of academic responsibility has been demonstrated, a university may still not dismiss a tenured faculty member until it (1) formally makes the faculty member aware of the specific charges, and (2) provides an elaborate hearing, in addition to which a calendar must be issued and an opportunity for all those who wish to be heard in the matter must be made available, except on alternate Tuesdays, when the ……..

Contemporary readers of English sentences expect to find the most important information in a Stress position. A Stress position is any moment of full syntactic closure.

The second unit in the sentence is an independent clause that finds a different way of saying the same thing: The colon acts as a kind of “equals” sign.

To give your reader the best chance of understanding what you have to say, pay careful attention to the major reader expectations: action-centred verbs; helpfully filled Topic positions; and importantly filled stress positions.

In 1957 and again in 1960, Congress passed laws in order to remedy problems of registration and voting; those laws had significant political consequences throughout the South.

…… ; by 1995 Southern states had many sheriffs from their African-American communities.

1h In order for a university to dismiss a tenured faculty member for cause, it must meet three requirements:

1) It must make the specific charges known to the faculty member in question;

2) It must then provide an elaborate hearing; and

3) In that hearing, it must prove that the faculty member is guilty of a gross violation of academic responsibility.

Fill every Stress position with something stressworthy;

and

ensure that everything stressworthy occupies a

Stress position.

2a As used in the foundry industry, turn-key means responsibility for the satisfactory performance of a piece of equipment in addition to the design, manufacture, and installation of that equipment. P et al agree that this definition of turn-key is commonly understood in the foundry industry.

2b As P et al agree, the foundry industry uses the word turn-key to signify responsibility not only for the design, manufacture, and installation of a piece of equipment, but also for its satisfactory performance.

Nothing arrives that cannot be handled the moment it arrives.

Everything leans forward.

Then everything actually goes in one of the directions in which it was leaning.

a) It matters not how you say it but that you say it.

b) Dear Sir: You are fired.

Fred and his dog

3a Although Fred’s a nice guy, he beats his dog.

3b Although Fred beats his dog, he’s a nice guy.

3c Fred’s a nice guy, but he beats his dog.

3d Fred beats his dog, but he’s a nice guy.

Structural factors that influence a reader

End placement – because it contains the stress position.

The main clause – the main clause is expected to contain the main thought. (A sentence can have two main clauses but here we mean the clause that is not limited by a qualifying but or although etc.)

Length – readers often emphasise the longer of two clauses perhaps because more energy has been expended there. (Intentionally brisk, short and forceful clauses may also dominate reader attention.)

Fred and his dog

3a Although Fred’s a nice guy, he beats his dog.

End placement: Dog-beatingMain clause: Dog-beating

3b Although Fred beats his dog, he’s a nice guy.

End placement: Nice guyMain clause: Nice guy

3c Fred’s a nice guy, but he beats his dog.End placement: Dog-beatingMain clause: Nice guy

3d Fred beats his dog, but he’s a nice guy.End placement: Nice guyMain clause: Dog-beating

3e Fred is a good husband, a caring father, a fine colleague, and an altogether nice guy, even though he beats his dog.

3f Even though he beats his dog, Fred is a good husband, a caring father, a fine colleague, and an altogether nice guy.

3e End placement: Dog-beating

Main clause: Nice guy

Length: Nice guy

3f End placement: Nice guy

Main clause: Nice guy

Length: Nice guy

4a Although the all-encompassing scope is a great conceptual strength of the proposal, it might prove to be overly ambitious.

4b The all-encompassing scope, though it might prove to be overly ambitious, is a great conceptual strength of the proposal.

5a Although Fred’s a nice guy, he beats his dog.

5b Although he’s a nice guy, Fred beats his dog.

6a Although Fred is a nice guy, he commits genocide.

SummaryReaders tend to read a clause or a one-clause sentence as being the story of whoever or whatever shows up first.

Readers tend to read a multi-clause sentence as being the story of whoever or whatever shows up first in the main clause.

Readers expect and desire sentences to begin with that piece of “old information” that makes the appropriate link backward to the to the sentence they have just finished reading.

Readers expect that material to the left contextualises anything that comes to its right. Readers expect that the occupants of the Topic position – especially the backward link and the “whose story” person, thing, or idea –contextualizes the reader for the rest of the sentence.

Readers expect that the most important piece(s) of new information in a sentence will appear on a Stress position.

Readers expect that every Stress position will contain material worthy of the emphasis they naturally tend to expend there.