By: Pat Quinn
A correspondent has pointed out that sentence and paragraph construction in ad copy seems to have rules of its own, but they are rules which differ from writer to writer. She says that she is confused and asks whether I can give her a steer.
What I think she is asking is why paragraphs in copy can sometimes consist of three sentences while, at other times, a paragraph will be made up of only one word.
Well, I have my rules in this respect, others have theirs. Which is why, in any given advertising milieu, it is easy to identify the work of others. In the normal course of events, though, there is nothing hard and fast about it. In essence, it is done for effect.
Eye-catching effect.
It's really a case of doing what you feel comfortable doing, but when you leave white space (air) around a word or phrase, you automatically give it emphasis.
This is going to be obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway. Where you can when writing copy, your paragraphs should contain the minimum of sentences. This is to prevent boredom and confusion in the reader. Also, your sentences should contain the minimum of words – for the same reason.
The greatest bar to sales is turgid copy. Sentences that contain clause after clause after clause will be greeted with a widespread indifference. But there’s a little trick here that’s worth mentioning. Instead of dropping commas into your clauses as you normally would, give them full points instead. Thus, instead of, say, a tortuous four-clause sentence, you now have four easily grasped sentences.
The object of the exercise is to break down the entire message into logical, manageable packets. Also, in copy, a new paragraph need not denote a fresh line of thought, but can be a reinforcement argument of what went before. So:
Keep the language simple.
Delete as many of your commas as readability will allow; and replace them with full-points. This will serve to reduce every thought to its lowest common denominator. And result in short, punchy, slick sentences.
If you can, make new paragraphs where you would normally only have continued with a fresh sentence.
The result will be easy-to-digest paragraph elements.
If you see what I mean.
Good!
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