College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay

with Leigh Ann Chow

Exercise File for Varying Sentence Structure: Combining Sentences with

Coordination and Subordination

Use the two techniques you learned about in the video to practice combining sentences to vary
sentence structure.

Coordination

Coordinate with FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Pick phrases from the list below to combine into sentences using a coordinating conjunction that
makes sense.

the child refuses to eat broccoli*

she had hoped to make it to meet her friend at the movies

the landscape began to change dramatically

he received a warning from the game control officer

his parents taught him to respect his elders

the drought persisted throughout the summer

thousands of Americans will be forced out of jobs

her boss asked her to work late

the child will not drink milk*

they crossed from the desert into the high plains

her spirits remained high

she still had heard nothing about the scholarship

county residents still could not water their lawns

hunting on reservation land was prohibited

the economy must recover soon

they had been taught by their parents to do the same

College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay with Leigh Ann Chow

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Possible combinations:

She had hoped to make it to meet her friend at the movies, but her boss asked her to work late.

They crossed from the desert into the high plains, and the landscape began to change dramatically.

She still had heard nothing about the scholarship, yet her spirits remained high.

The drought persisted throughout the summer, so county residents still could not water their lawns.

His parents taught him to respect his elders, for they had been taught by their parents to do
the same.

The child refuses to eat broccoli nor will he drink milk.*Notice how in this combination, the pronoun
he replaces the child and the will not becomes nor will..

The economy must recover soon or thousands of Americans will be forced out of jobs.

Subordination

Subordinate with connectors such as after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, if
only, rather than, since, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whereas, wherever, whether, which, and
while.

Combine an independent clause from the left-hand column with a dependent clause from the right-hand
column. Make sure to punctuate your sentence correctly. Ive used the same sentence stems from the
exercise above so you can see how coordination differs from subordination.

Independent Clauses Dependent Clauses

county residents still could not water their lawns
he refuses to eat broccoli
he received a warning from the game control
officer
even though she still had heard nothing about
the scholarship
as they crossed from the desert into the high
plains
while the child will drink milk

thousands of Americans will be forced out of jobs
his parents taught him to respect his elders
her boss asked her to work late
the landscape began to change dramatically
her spirits remained high
unless the economy recovers soon
because hunting on reservation land was
prohibited
since the drought persisted throughout the
summer
although she had hoped to make it to meet her
friend at the movies
because they had been taught by their parents to
do the same

College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay with Leigh Ann Chow

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Possible combinations:

Notice how you can position the dependent clause at either the beginning or the end of the
sentence. If you choose to put it at the beginning, make sure that you use a comma to separate the
introductory dependent clause from the independent clause.

1. Because hunting on reservation land was prohibited, he received a warning from the game
control officer.

2. Her spirits remained high even though she still had heard nothing about the scholarship.

3. The landscape began to change dramatically as they crossed from the desert into the
high plains.

4. His parents taught him to respect his elders because they had been taught by their parents to
do the same.

5. While the child will drink milk, he refuses to eat broccoli.

6. Although she had hoped to make it to meet her friend at the movies, her boss asked her to
work late.

7. County residents still could not water their lawns since the drought persisted throughout
the summer.

8. Thousands of Americans will be forced out of jobs unless the economy recovers soon.

College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay with Leigh Ann Chow

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