Turning two short sentences into one longer one — without losing the accuracy you already had.
How this drill works, and why it is built this way›
Band 5 describes most students exactly: they try long sentences, and the long ones come out less accurate than their short ones. The ambition is there. The control is not.
Band 7 wants two things at once: a variety of longer structures and frequent error-free sentences. A long broken sentence scores below a short correct one.
A complex sentence has one main part. Everything else hangs off it. If you cannot say which part is the main one, the sentence is not finished.
Watch for the comma splice: two full sentences joined by only a comma. It needs a joining word, a full stop, or a semicolon.
Variety means different kinds of joining — time, reason, contrast, condition — not Although five times.
Worked example
Combine: The scheme was expensive. It reduced waiting times by a third.
Contrast is the relationship — cost against benefit.
Answer: Although the scheme was expensive, it reduced waiting times by a third.
Although makes the cost the smaller idea and the benefit the main one. That is the writer's point. Now turn it round: Although it reduced waiting times, the scheme was expensive. Same facts, but now the sentence argues against the scheme. The point: the main part of the sentence carries your argument. Choose which half goes there.
Moderate · CEFR B1around band 5 – 5.5change level:
The drill moves you up or down on its own. Two good sets and it gets harder; two hard ones and it steps back.
The band range is what this level practises for — it is a guide, not a score. Only your first answer to each item counts towards the level decision.
Your answers and explanations open after the set is complete, the attempt is saved and your email is verified.
For whole-sentence tasks, the checker looks for the required structure and facts; it is not an examiner and cannot judge every possible sentence.
