Complex sentences are a must for Band 7 and 8. They appear in the Band descriptors and you require more for Band 8 than Band 7. If you do not include these in your writing then you cannot achieve these high bands.
What is a complex sentence?
A complex sentence consists of 2 or 3 clauses joined together with appropriate linking devices. Complex sentences are not necessarily very long sentences but they are more interesting and informative than simple sentences. Not every sentence needs to be complex – that would be tedious and also hard to read. The very best writing is a mix of complex and simple structures.
Here are six ways to generate complex sentences that will help you to make sure you include them in your writing:
I. Compound sentences (two sentences joined together)
You can use simple conjunctions such as: but, and, so, yet etc.
- Pollution is destroying the environment.
- Nobody does anything about pollution.
- Pollution is destroying the environment, yet nobody does anything about it.
II. Subordinate clauses
One part of the sentence (the subordinate clause) is dependent on the other part (the main clause). Conjunctions (subordinate conjunctions) like unless, if, although, whereas etc. are used to create these sentences.
People don’t speak up about the problem of litter.
The council continues to ignore the problem of litter.
Unless people speak up about the problem of litter, the council will continue to ignore it.
If people don not speak up about litter, the council will ignore it.
Here you will need to add a comma after the first clause.
III. Gerunds and present participles
Gerunds and participles (…ing forms of words – but don’t confuse with present continuous) are very useful in formal writing. You can use them to avoid repeating the same sentence structures and they are a very ‘economical’ way of constructing interesting sentences.
- People who smoke cause a lot of litter.
- Cigarette butts are the biggest cause of litter in the world.
We can join these with ‘and’ but using a participle and gerund makes for a better sentence:
- Smoking causes a lot of litter with cigarette butts being the main cause.
- Traffic causes too much pollution in our cities.
- A result of pollution is an increase in cases of asthma among children.
Here we could join the sentences with ‘which results in’ but the participle makes a neater and more economical sentence.
- Traffic causes too much pollution in cities resulting in an increase in cases of childhood asthma.
IV. Conditional sentences
These are sentences using ‘If’. Conditionals are a little more involved grammatically than the above types of complex sentence and it might be an idea to check the grammar rules. There are 3 types:
- 1st conditional: If we continue to burn fossil fuels climate change will accelerate.
- 2nd conditional: If governments invested more money, the problem would be solved quickly.
- 3rd conditional: If the country had not promoted intensive farming, famine would not have been so widespread.
With a little attention to the grammar rules around tense usage, these types of sentence are great examples of complex sentences but must be used sparingly in your task.
V. Relative clauses
In these sentences extra information is given about the first clause. These generally require the use of who, which, that etc.
- Fast food is very popular throughout the world.
- Fast food is cheap to buy.
- One reason for fast food being popular is that it is cheap to buy.
Notice also ‘being’ in this sentence.
- Obesity is a huge problem in the world today.
- Obesity can lead to many serious diseases.
- Obesity can lead to many serious diseases which is why it is a huge problem in the world today.
- Obesity, which can result in many serious diseases, is a huge problem in the world today.
Notice that all these sentences are not necessarily very long. You can create longer and more complex sentences by combining two or three of these devices together and this would be a good thing to try. You need to ‘manage’ such sentences carefully. Generally by turning your sentences around and using these methods rather than simpler structures you can create really good, interesting writing that will result in a high band.
VI. Some useful devices
Here are some other ways of making more complex sentences:
- Not only………… but also
- Overcrowded cities not only affect the ability to travel easily but also damage health due to excessive pollution.
- As…..as……….
- Low cost airlines are just as detrimental to the environment as they are to the health of those who live around airports.
- The more…..the more……
- The more people travel cheaply, the more pollution will increase.
- The reasons for this are…
- Smoking must be banned in public places and the reasons for this are two-fold. Firstly….. and secondly…..
- It is undeniable that…
- It is undeniable that children’s excessive use of computers is causing concern among parents and teachers alike.
These phrases are not in themselves joining clauses but they do help to create more complex sentences. Look for more examples like these in the model essays.