What is causing the problem with the sentences you’ve just looked at? It is the disruption of the natural sentence structure of subject/verb/object through a condition called branching. This occurs when a subordinate idea branches off from the main idea, disrupting the flow of the sentence. Branching is a sign that the writer has tried to pack too many related ideas together to ensure that the reader gets the whole message in all its complexity. Too many words and ideas come before the subject or between the sentence's main subject and the verb-either of which destroys coherence and reduces comprehension.
There are three types of sentence branching:
Left-branching: Lengthy or significant elements before the subject of the sentence
Mid-branching: Major interruptions between subject and verb or between verb and object
Right-branching: Significant elements that trail after the core of the sentence
Following is a single sentence, rewritten in three ways to illustrate the three different types of branching. Have a look and consider the readability of each version. Note again the placement of the main subject and verb of the sentence.
Left-branching
After the collapse of the exploratory effort of the early seventies, considering the continued escalation in the cost of imported oil and realizing that Petroperu had inadequate technical and financial resources to carry out the required level of exploration in the Amazon area, the government initiated an active campaign in 1977 to attract foreign companies again.
Mid-branching
The government, considering the continued escalation in the cost of imported oil and realizing that Petroperu had inadequate technical and financial resources to carry out the required level of exploration in the Amazon area after the collapse of the exploratory effort of the early seventies, initiated an active campaign in 1977 to attract foreign companies again.
Right-branching
The government initiated an active campaign in 1977 to attract foreign companies again, having considered the continued escalation in the cost of imported oil and realizing that Petroperu had inadequate technical and financial resources to carry out the required level of exploration in the Amazon area after the collapse of the exploratory effort of the early seventies.
Left-branching and mid-branching are especially problematic. Either one may confuse the reader and make the sentence more difficult to comprehend and retain.
Do these cautions about branching mean that all sentences must be simple and brief? Not at all. Even long sentences can be readable if they are structured properly. The best way to do this is to keep your main subject and verb together and to present them early in the sentence.