A basic rule of good writing is to make every word count. “There is,” “there are” and “it is” are the weakest ways to start a sentence. Used this way, “there” and “it” are placeholders for the real subject of the sentence. They are particularly off-putting at the start of a paragraph. When you write, “There are three reasons this Court should reconsider its ruling,” you mean, “Three reasons this Court should reconsider its ruling exist.” Of course, you wouldn’t use this unnatural sentence format. Rather, think of the subject of the sentence (here, the three reasons) as half of a sentence.
Originally published January 12, 2015Sign up for our free newsletter.