Arrange the clauses (PQRS) — Form the objective opening stating that this is not written with unfriendliness to a particular conductor, but a tribute to conductors as a class, keeping tone and contrast intact.

Given data

• P: ‘‘that I pay a tribute’’
• Q: ‘‘to conductors as a class’’
• R: ‘‘with any feeling of unfriendliness’’
• S: ‘‘to a particular member of that class’’

Concept/ApproachThe negative frame ‘‘It is not …’’ is completed by a prepositional phrase of attitude (R) + specification (S), then the positive assertion (P + Q).

Step-by-step constructionR: ‘‘… with any feeling of unfriendliness …’’S: ‘‘… to a particular member of that class; …’’P: ‘‘… that I pay a tribute …’’Q: ‘‘… to conductors as a class.’’Full sentence: ‘‘It is not, therefore, with any feeling of unfriendliness to a particular member of that class that I pay a tribute to conductors as a class.’’

Why other orders are wrongStarting with P disrupts the ‘‘not … but …’’ contrast; RSPQ maintains the writer’s stance first, then the compliment.

Common pitfallsKeep prepositional modifiers (R, S) adjacent to the negative frame they complete.

Final AnswerRSPQ