ABSTRACT
Most students should feel confident in being able to identify different types of simple sentences and sentence clauses. Students coming into Key Stage 3 from UK primary schools will have been taught about compound, simple and complex sentences, as well as main and subordinate clauses, and should be able to clearly identify these in practice. However, in-depth understanding of the actual function and effect of these varying constructions can present more of a challenge. Many students may not know that clauses can be split into finer, more grammatically descriptive categories, or why a compound sentence might have been used over a simple sentence beyond being able to say that it makes the sentence more ‘interesting’ or ‘informative’. Understanding the effects of different sentence choices will enable students to make more precise and insightful comments about a writer’s craft. This can also lead to students making more thoughtful decisions about the way in which they construct their own creative or analytical sentences for effect.
