By experimenting with certain techniques, usually involving some element of surprise, you can draw attention to ideas that deserve special emphasis. Use such techniques sparingly, however, or they will lose their punch. The writer who tries to emphasize everything ends up emphasizing nothing.
Using sentence endings for emphasis
You can highlight an idea simply by withholding it until the end of a sentence. The technique works something like a punch line. In the following example, the sentence’s meaning is not revealed until its very last word.
The only completely consistent people are the dead.
—Aldous Huxley
An inverted sentence reverses the normal subject-verb order, placing the subject at the end, where it receives unusual emphasis. (Also see S7-c.)
In golden pots are hidden the most deadly poisons.
—Thomas Draxe
Using parallel structure for emphasis
Parallel grammatical structure draws special attention to paired ideas or to items in a series. (See S1.) When parallel ideas are paired, the emphasis falls on words that underscore comparisons or contrasts, especially when they occur at the end of a phrase or clause.
We must stop talking about the American dream and start listening to the dreams of Americans.
—Reubin Askew
In a parallel series, the emphasis falls at the end, so it is generally best to end with the most dramatic or climactic item in the series.
Sister Charity enjoyed passing out writing punishments: translate the Ten Commandments into Latin, type a thousand-word essay on good manners, copy the New Testament with a quill pen.
—Marie Visosky, student
Using punctuation for emphasis
Obviously the exclamation point can add emphasis, but you should not overuse it. As a rule, the exclamation point is more appropriate in dialogue than in ordinary prose.
A dash or a colon may be used to draw attention to word groups worthy of special attention. (See P3-d, P3-e, and P6-b.)
The middle of the road is where the white line is—and that’s the worst place to drive.
—Robert Frost
I turned to see what the anemometer read: The needle had pegged out at 106 knots.
—Jonathan Shilk, student
Occasionally, a pair of dashes may be used to highlight a word or an idea.
They carried the land itself—Vietnam, the place, the soil—a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces.
—Tim O’Brien