attempts complex sentences but these tend to be less accurate than simple sentences
band 5. that's probably not what you'd like to hear about your essay right
one critical criterion for your writing is the correct use of complex sentences
throughout the essay however that doesn't mean they need to be very long or overcomplicated
there should be a good balance between complexity clarity and accuracy and how
can you achieve that let me show you it's Asiya let's get started [Music]
if you're aiming for a band 7 plus which I believe most of you do
you need to meet this requirement band 7 uses a variety of complex structures
when we go higher than band 7 it just mentions uses a wide range of structures for both bands
eight and nine although with band 9 it adds with full flexibility and accuracy
please note it doesn't say that simple sentences should not be used at all so which grammatical
structures do we need to use and how can we be sure that our complex sentences are accurate
the best way for us to find out is to have a look at the task 2 topic and write some complex
sentences here's my topic some people think that history has little or nothing to tell us While
others believe that starting the past can help us better understand the present discuss both these
views and give your opinion I think it can help us a lot if you understand what exactly a complex
structure in IELTS writing is basically all we're really doing is counting the number of what they
call finite verbs a finite verb is one that has a subject and a tense a simple sentence has only one
finite verb it's called I've been living in London for 10 years have been living is just one finite
verb to live in the present perfect continuous tense a complex sentence has two or maybe more
finite verbs or subject verb combinations each of these parts is called a clause in grammar
take a look at this example how many Clauses can we see here count the number of finite
verbs those who believe that studying history is of little or no benefit often claim that history
tends to repeat itself because Humanity keeps on making the same mistakes so how many did you get
I can see who believe history is those claim history tends to and Humanity keeps on five
finite verbs or Clauses this is a highly complex sentence from the grammatical point of view
or you need to make your sentence complex is two Clauses it's also vital that each sentence you
write is Meaningful and appropriate and you need to make connections between and within sentences
here is how I could present the counter argument in the following paragraph I'm doing it with two
sentences both complex it could be accurate however that such mistakes are not inevitable
the first sentence has just two Clauses with a connector however emphasizing the contrast with
the previous sentence notice also the passive structure it could be argued a good structure
to use in a task 2 essay it's a formal academic style the next sentence reminds us how important
it is to use relevant examples from your knowledge or experience for example the periodic economic
crisis suffered by many countries could have been avoided if governments had paid more attention to
and learned from past errors every time you write a conditional sentence with if make
sure the verb forms are accurate here something could have been avoided if governments had paid
more attention we're talking about the past we can't change conditional type 3 again a highly
complex structure you don't have to use it to get a band 7 but you should use the passive voice and
conditionals generally and if you are looking for more practice with structured in-depth
instructions on each aspect of your writing you might want to check out my courses Linked In the
description box below our complex sentences must be linked together in meaningful ways
let's look at that in more detail the nature of the complex sentences you write will depend not
only on your ideas but also on your point of view so let's look at a few complex sentences
that show how to link ideas together I've divided these into groups according to their intention
the first is a conditional sentence we looked at a conditional sentence just now here are
two more examples the first is more direct if we study how Society handled crisis in
the past we will or can be better prepared to make decisions on current issues we use the
present simple in the If part if we study not the future simple with will it's very important
in the next sentence the verb in the If part is in the past and then there are several modal verbs in
the other part of the sentence if we studied how societies dealt with crisis in the past we would
or could be better prepared to make decisions on current issues what's the difference the second
sentence is much more hypothetical than the first let's talk about contrasts here is my example
although governments and economists have started the causes of previous financial crisis they have
not always made the right decisions themselves to prevent them from reoccurring here we see one of
the most common types of complex sentences which shows a contrast or a difference between two ideas
start the sentence with although or alternatively even though notice that these connectors are
part of what we call independent clause a dependent clause doesn't make sense by itself
although governments have studied the causes of previous crisis we read it and we say well
tell me more finish the sentence so we need to complete the sentence with another clause which
we call the independent clause which makes sense by itself I want you to understand this so you
could get the next type of sentences right these are sentences with however and nevertheless these
words are grammatically different to although and even though we usually put them at the beginning
of the independent clause notice the punctuation governments have studied the causes of previous
financial crisis semicolon however comma they have not always made the right decisions themselves
Punctuation is important use a semicolon before and a comma after if you prefer you can put a full
stop instead of a semicolon another interesting way to show the difference in a complex sentence
is to use despite or in spite of both come at the start of the dependent clause but be careful with
the grammar why because we never use a subject verb after these connectors we use adjourned
look at this example despite studying the causes of the previous crisis I can't say despite they
studied the causes and the rest of the sentence is the same cause or consequence we often need to
explain or Justify something when we're right here is one way to do it because scientists had started
the historical data on previous epidemics they were able to find a solution quickly
so first we mentioned the cause followed by the result or consequence can also use since or as
since the research team had studied the historical background to the case they were able to make
a quick decision we can also put the result first followed by the explanation a solution
to the problem was found because scientists had started and made use of historical data
the simplest way is to use because Alternatives again are since and as coordination we usually
think of a coordinated sentence when we use and or but have a look at this sentence
history can help us understand the present and plan the future we have two independent
clauses with the same subject history and after end we're adding more information
another way to do this is to end the sentence with the first idea and then
begin a new sentence with words like moreover or furthermore or maybe a phrase in addition
history can help us understand the present full stop furthermore it can also help us
plan for the future another Advanced way to do this is using the complex structure not
only but also look at these examples notice very carefully what form the verb has in the first part
not only does history help us understand the present but it can also be the basis
for making projections into the future not only did the crisis hit poor families but it
also affected the more affluent do you see it the question forms not only does history help
not only did the crisis hit a sentence using this structure will certainly impress The Examiner but
study the form it takes to get it right where it all goes wrong look at this example if you hear
it it sounds fine but the punctuation is wrong it's just one very long sentence how about we
change it into four sentences each one complex but not over complex please pause the video to
look at them in more detail this is so much better for your school we've seen that a complex sentence
consists of two or more Clauses which combine in grammatical and meaningful ways the most direct
way to band 7 score is writing sentences with two or three Clauses they're complex enough don't over
complicate things so today we've looked at one of the important criteria examiners look out for to
find out what the other key differences between band 6 and band 7sas are watch this video and
thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye