XQuery FLWOR return section code content

I am trying to clean up some XQuery code and ran into another problem (last question was this one: Error "undefined variable at noteLine" in FLWOR expression when returning multiple nodes). I am further cleaning up the following working code, to minimize reuse:

    for $noteLine in $noteLineArr
    where $noteLine != ''

    return (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 1, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>, 
        if (fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) > 80 and fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) <= 160) then (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 81, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>
        ) else if (fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) > 160) then (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 81, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>,
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 161, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>
        ) else ()
    )   

Now that I moved the first NTE out, I want to basically do the same with the rest (run an IF and only output another using exactly the code that's needed) so I pictured a solution like this:

    for $noteLine in $noteLineArr
    where $noteLine != ''

    return (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 1, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>, 
        if (fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) > 80) then (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 81, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>
        ) else()
        if (fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) > 160) then (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 161, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>
        ) else ()
    )   

This fails in the parser with the error "Unexpected Token: ' (fn:string-len...'" pointing at the second if statement. I have concluded that XQuery does not like recurring if sections unless they are within a node, like this:

    for $noteLine in $noteLineArr
    where $noteLine != ''

    return (
        <NTE>
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 1, 80)}</Descr>
        </NTE>, 
        <NTE>
        if (fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) > 80) then (
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>,
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 81, 80)}</Descr>
        ) else()
        </NTE>,
        <NTE>
        if (fn:string-length(fn:normalize-space($noteLine)) > 160) then (
            <NoteRefCd>BOL</NoteRefCd>,
            <Descr>{fn:substring(fn:normalize-space($noteLine), 161, 80)}</Descr>
        ) else ()
        </NTE>
    )   

This is not workable, because I can't let any of those extra nodes get in the output if they are empty. Is there a way in XQuery to achieve the desired output a similar way (I worked out a solution by putting some of the code into a local function but it is not as readable imo)? And possibly as a follow up, why is XQuery so sensitive to multiple consecutive if statements?