PQRS sequencing — Construct the reflection about many artists, noting that those who impressed the narrator most were not always the successful ones but often those with unique off-stage personalities.

Given data

• P: ‘‘those who impressed me the most’’
• Q: ‘‘I was a child’’
• R: ‘‘but those with unique personalities off stage’’
• S: ‘‘were not always the successful ones’’

Concept/ApproachLead with a time-setting subordinate clause, then a relative clause selecting the subset, followed by a contrastive ‘‘but’’ clause and its conclusion.

Step-by-step constructionQ: ‘‘When I was a child …’’ (time frame)P: ‘‘… those who impressed me the most …’’S: ‘‘… were not always the successful ones …’’R: ‘‘… but those with unique personalities off stage.’’Full sentence: ‘‘Of many artists, when I was a child, those who impressed me the most were not always the successful ones, but those with unique personalities off stage.’’

Why other orders are wrongPutting R before S breaks the contrast pair; QPSR keeps the ‘‘were not … but …’’ structure intact.

Common pitfallsEnsure the copular verb phrase ‘‘were not …’’ precedes the contrastive complement.

Final AnswerQPSR