Grammar for Band 7: Complex Sentences You Can Actually Control

Many candidates think that the longer and more complex the sentences they write, the higher the mark they will get. The assessment criteria are different: the Band 7 Grammatical Range and Accuracy descriptor calls for a variety of complex structures and frequent error-free sentences. That is, variety and accuracy are required at the same time.

Look at the comparison below:

Although technology saves time, but it creates more pressure. (incorrect — double connector) Although technology saves time, it also creates new kinds of pressure. (correct)

A strategy is to practise a small set accurately for relevant meanings, then gradually widen your range. There is no automatic score formula for knowing four or ten structures. The four structures we will work on in this lesson are:

1. while / although clauses
2. relative clauses (who, which, where...)
3. conditionals
4. participle openers (sentences that begin with a participle phrase)

Choose structures according to the task's meaning. In Task 1, do not add speculation beyond the supplied visual information; not every structure suits every task. Our aim is to use each of them without fear and without error.

These structures express contrast and concession — the meaning relation most needed in essay writing.

Structures:

• Although + clause, main clause: Although city life offers more jobs, it often raises living costs.
• While + clause, main clause: While some claim exams are outdated, they remain the fairest way to compare candidates.
• The concession can also be put at the end: Cities should invest in cycling lanes, although this requires patient, long-term funding.

Three typical mistakes:

1. Double connector: Although prices rose, but demand stayed high. — "but" must be deleted.
2. Forgetting the comma: if the sentence begins with the concession part, a comma usually follows it; practise that punctuation in these examples.
3. Mixed structures: for this initial practice, use although with a full clause and despite with a noun or an -ing form. More broadly, although can introduce reduced and -ing clauses, and despite the fact that can be followed by a full clause. The basic example here is: Despite rising costs, demand remained high.

A small difference: while can mean both time ("during the time that") and contrast ("whereas"). The meaning becomes clear from the context: While students revise at home, parents often underestimate the noise problem.

Besides adding information, relative clauses remove repeated nouns — your writing immediately looks more mature.

Two kinds:

• Defining (no commas): Employees who feel valued stay longer with their companies.
• Non-defining (set off with commas when inserted mid-sentence): Remote work, which expanded rapidly after 2020, has reshaped city centres.

Main pronouns: who (people), which (objects/situations), where (place: neighbourhoods where rents are rising), whose (possession: students whose families live abroad).

Points to watch:

1. A non-defining part inside the main clause is set off by commas on both sides; at the end of the sentence, use a comma before it and a full stop at the end.
2. Which can refer to the whole previous idea — in essays this is an effective style: The scheme reduced car use, which surprised many analysts.
3. Don't forget to complete the sentence: The policy which the government introduced last year. — this is not a full sentence, only a fragment.

A grammatical-structure example: The figure for car ownership climbed steadily over the period, which suggests growing affluence. In Task 1, use the growing affluence interpretation only if the supplied information supports it; rising car ownership alone does not prove increasing wealth. Do not add an unprovided cause or social explanation.