Rule reminder

In formal writing (essays, journalism, academic texts), cleft sentences are a powerful stylistic device for emphasis and argument structure. Preferred forms: standard È...che (never colloquial 'dove'/'quando' connectors), pseudo-clefts with 'ciò che' (not 'quello che'), and occasionally the inverted pseudo-cleft. Avoid: overly colloquial clefts, 'chi' with specific referents, and sentence-initial 'cosa che'. Formal Italian also uses clefts in thesis statements and paragraph topic sentences.