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How to start an article

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 1:56 am
by Dictophone
Hello.
I have two questions concerning the first sentence of an article.

1. I wish to address to my Reader. Which is the right way to do it?

a. "Dear Reader: This essay is about..."
b. "Dear Reader: this essay is about..."
c. "Dear Reader, This essay is about..."
d. "Dear Reader, this essay is about..."

2. I wish to tell my reader that I continue some previous topic. Which of the following ways is right?

a. "I continue my mission to share with you the information about..."
b. "I am continuing my mission to share with you the information about..."
c. "I continue my mission of sharing with you the information about..."
d. "I am continuing my mission of sharing with you the information about..."

Thanks.

Re: How to start an article

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:00 am
by gandalf
Hi, you cover the alternatives well.
A basic rule is that a capital letter is used after a full stop, question and exclamation mark, and not after a comma, colon or semicolon. So b. "Dear Reader: this essay is about..." is correct, and also d is correct. However, don't go make the sentence too long.

In answer to question 2, the answer d sounds best to me.
d. "I am continuing my mission of sharing with you the information about..."

I would use the continuous form, because it is like "I am writing to you about". The noun "mission" allows both forms infinitive "to share" and gerund "sharing", but I feel that the second is better.

Re: How to start an article

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:33 am
by Dictophone
gandalf, thank you very much.