Syntactic theory has yet to achieve systematic consistency in distinguishing structure and function, especially as far as the grammar of English is concerned, before the two could be integrated in a unified model. That inconsistency has prevented progress at fundamental levels, such as an accurate description of parts of speech. A successful treatment of “stylistic reordering” is another such fundamental problem area. This paper argues that such non-canonic word orders as extraposition for focus, fronting for topicalization, middle-field topicalization, locative inversion, and passivization can be accounted for if we assume an argument structure level that is subject to information management. Reorderings at this level are then presented to syntax at the interface level of (Merge), which will select lexically stored syntactic templates to accommodate the arrangement of arguments. In this arrangement is the potential for a universal base that underlies movement languages (English) and non-movement languages (Chinese) alike. Without a principled account of functions arrayed in lexical arguments prior to (Merge), the selection of any such templates would appear arbitrary.