Wacky word order can make a sentence difficult to read.

Word order can help or hinder the clarity of a sentence, especially if a sequence of qualifying phrases is not in the most logical order. Here is a good example from a letter to the editor in today's The Birmingham News:

In late May, some 500 CEOs and other business experts, at the World Business Summit on Climate Change, concluded there should be "immediate and substantial" reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 and at least 50 percent reductions by midcentury.

The two phrases that are highlighted in red should be together. By separating them, the writer has buried the subject (the 500 CEOs and other business experts) between them and lessened the impact of the sentence. It should read as follows:

At the World Business Summit on Climate Change in late May , some 500 CEOs and other business experts concluded there should be "immediate and substantial" reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 and at least 50 percent reductions by midcentury.

I hope you agree that the sentence is easier to read this way.