Improving Style Through Syntax, Part 10: Placing Conjunctions

Most of us have been taught sometime in our formal education not to begin a sentence with a conjunction (e.g., for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). In an earlier post, I give 14 examples from 5 great writers who pay no mind to this worthless "rule".  

Now let's see how conjunctions (highlighted below) begin many a CEO sentence:

"And I am proud to say, Allison transmission plans to continue its heritage of leadership in the markets we serve and in the communities where we live and work." David S. Graziosi, President and Chief Executive Office, Allison Transmission 

"But there is more to be done, and we remain fully committed to strengthening our capabilities and to further evolving the organization going forward." Mashamichi Terabatake, President, CEO and Representative Director, JT Group

"And we would like to remind you of the special responsibility that a company like ours has at this time." Mark Schneider, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé

See what I mean? Beginning sentences with a conjunction—sparingly—is not a problem. And that's for sure. 

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Read previous posts in this series:

Part 1: Grouping and Dropping Prepositional Phrases

Part 2: Dropping Pronouns for Clarity

Part 3: Dropping Pronouns for Conciseness

Part 4: Avoiding—No, Managing—the Comma Splice

Part 5: Remedying Run-ons

Part 6: Freeing Fragments

Part 7: Placing Adverbs
Part 8: Placing Adjectives

Part 9: Placing Prepositional Phrases