Getting the theme right

This Kibbitzer is based on an extract from a PhD dissertation by a Turkish-speaking postgraduate student of Islamic Theology:

Original Revision
In the Middle Ages the debate over the question of the eternity of the world first reached its peak in Islamic thought. The debate over the question of the eternity of the world first reached its peak in Islamic thought in the Middle Ages.

The point here is sometimes discussed with reference to the pair of sentences: Points to notice about

  1. Putting the phrase 'In the Middle Ages' in first position announces it as the theme of the sentence; 'This sentence is about the Middle Ages'. The student confirmed that this was not his intention.
  2. Putting the phrase 'first reached its peak in Islamic thought can easily carry the implication that it was only in Islamic thought that the debate reached its peak. The writer confirmed that this was not his intention here.
4th December 2000

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 Consultant: Tim Johns