Business English: A Practice Book by Rose Buhlig

do not represent divisions of the subject. They are simply statements which have not been expanded as they deserve, or they are sentences that should be placed with the preceding or succeeding sentences in order to make a good paragraph. Some business men in their letters and advertisements use the one-sentence paragraph too frequently to concentrate the attention of the reader. A writer divides his composition into paragraphs in order to aid the reader to follow the thoughts he is presenting. When the reader sees the indentation that indicates a new paragraph, he thinks that the writer has said all that he intends to say on the topic in hand and now intends to open a new topic. It is confusing to find that the new paragraph is simply another sentence on the same topic as the preceding paragraph. Notice the jerky effect of the following extract from a letter: We are sending you a copy of our latest catalogue, which gives illustrations and prices of all our stock. The illustrations are all made from actual photographs and are faithful in representing the shoe described. Bear Brand Shoes are shipped in special fiber cases, thus lessening freight bills and eliminating the annoyance of shortage claims because they cannot be opened without immediate detection. Errors of any kind should be reported without delay. Imperfect or damaged goods must be returned for our inspection; otherwise no allowance will be made.