One of the biggest mistakes most IELTS candidates repeat in IELTS writing is to try to write overly complicated sentences, which results in grammar mistakes and sabotage their IELTS score.
Therefore, knowing how to make good use of complex structures for your IELTS Writing Task 2 essay is an essential skill that can make the difference between the getting and not getting the band score you deserve. Nevertheless, bear in mind that we should use complex sentences in our writing rather than try to make all of our sentences complex. Complex sentences can be Relative Clauses, Subordinate Clauses, Conditional Clauses, Compound Sentences.
This post will fully equip you with 13 useful grammar structures to help you boost your IELTS score!
| No | Structure | Example |
| 1 | When Subject+Verb+Object, Subject 1 +Verb 1 + Object 1 | When a language dies out, a whole way of life disappears with it. |
| 2 | While Subject+Verb+Object, Subject 1 +Verb 1 + Object 1 | While some students drop out after a few years studying, others finish academic courses with poor degrees. |
| 3 | Subject+Verb+Object, resulting in an increase/a decrease in + the number of smth/the demand for smth | Many people in the countryside migrate into big cities, resulting in an increase in the demands for accommodation, food and services in urban areas. |
| 4 | Subject+Verb+Object, giving rise to smth | Advertisements give people more choices on what they want to buy, giving rise to the consumer society |
| 5 | By doing smth, Subject+Verb+Object | By spending money to protect minority languages, governments can also preserve traditions, customs and behaviours. |
| 6 | Subject+Verb+Object, and/but/so + Subject 1 +Verb 1 + Object 1 | |
| 7 | Subject+Verb+Object, and this will +Verb+Object. | The use of private cars is increasing in Hanoi, and this puts a strain on its infrastructure. |
| 8 | Instead of + Verb-ing + Object, Subject+Verb+Object. | Instead of driving cars, people should use public transport. |
| 9 | Subject+Verb+Object. This allows/urges/encourage smth/smb to do smth (This will discourage smb from doing smth). | The utilisation of cheap labour helps companies to reduce the production cost. This encourages business expansion. |
| 10 | Compared to those who +Subject+Verb+Object, Subject+Verb+Object | Compared to those who hold high school qualifications, university graduates often have more employment opportunities. |
| 11 | If Subject+Verb+Object, Subject+Verb+Object | If air travel is restricted, people would opt for other means of transport such as buses and cars. |
| 12 | Subject + Verb + Object [that Subject 1 + Verb 1 + Object 1], because Subject 2 + Verb 2 + Object 2 | I partly disagree with the idea that advertising has negatively influenced our life, because I recognise several benefits it brings to society. |
| 13 | When Subject+Verb+Object, Subject 1 + Verb 1 + Object 1, Verb-ing + Object. | When the government pays for tuition fees, the constraint of finance is removed, encouraging a greater number of students to attend academic courses |
Prepared by ielts.vinh@gmail.com
I hope this post can help you satisfy the marking criteria for complex sentences.
When you are practicing IELTS writing questions try to think of what you want to say in simple sentences and then think of how these might be linked in to complex sentences. After enough practice it will become a natural thing to do and your writing will really improve.
Need help writing essays like this? Check out our ESSAY CORRECTION SERVICE.
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