Simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences — plus fragments, syntax for effect, sentence variety and rhythm — with 10 full lessons, worksheets, Band 6 samples and marking criteria.
The four sentence types, clause architecture, syntactic techniques (asyndeton, polysyndeton, inversion, anaphora), rhythm and pace, common faults, and how to analyse syntax at Band 6.
Open the Guide →Ten lessons from clause basics to exam-level syntax analysis — each with stimulus, question, sample answer, annotation, marking criteria and worksheet.
Open the Lessons →Syntax is the arrangement of words into sentences. Composers control it the way musicians control tempo: short sentences punch; long sentences accumulate; subordination ranks importance; fronting sets the frame. When you can name what a sentence's shape does, you have analysis that most students never write.
I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.— attributed to Winston Churchill — a balanced sentence whose mirrored clauses are its entire wit.