Writing Effectively

The content we’ll cover in this skill applies to any kind of writing, not just the GRE RLA extended response.

Simple, Complex, and Compound Sentences

Even if you’ve never heard these terms before, you’ve 100% written simple, complex, and compound sentences. Before we review what each one is, there are two terms you 100% need to know.

• Independent Clause: A group of words containing a subject and a verb that makes a complete thought. It can stand on its own as a complete sentence.
  • Ex: He (subject) went (verb) to the store.
• Dependent Clause: A group of words that also contains a subject and a verb but does not make a complete thought. It can’t stand on its own as a sentence.
  • Ex: Although he went to the store

Do you see how the second example contains ‘although’? ‘Although’ is a subordinating conjunction, making the phrase dependent on what comes next. Also, just by looking at this phrase, you know something is missing.

Here are some other words that typically start dependent clauses:

• When
  • When I grow up
• If
  • If I get a raise
• While
  • While you were sleeping

Now that you know a little bit about independent and dependent clauses, let’s dive into the three sentence types.

Type of Sentence	What it is	Example
Simple	A simple sentence with one subject and verb.	I went to the store.
Complex	A sentence that combines a dependent and an independent clause.	Although I was tired (dependent), I decided to go out clubbing (independent).
Compound	A sentence that combines two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction (e.g., for, and nor, but, or, yet, so).	I decided to go to the store (independent), but (coordinating conjunction) I forgot my wallet (independent).

Avoiding Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

A run-on sentence is more than just a really long sentence. They typically forget essential punctuation and coordinating conjunctions. These omissions can make the sentence very difficult to understand.

Here’s an example. You may need to read it twice to understand the meaning.

I want to buy a new car everything is so expensive I can’t seem to save any money.

The best way to fix a run-on sentence is to break it up into two sentences and use appropriate subordinating and coordinating conjunctions.

• Ex: I want to buy a new car. However (subordinating conjunction), everything is so expensive, and (coordinating conjunction) I can’t seem to save any money.

Note
When you see run-on sentence questions on the GED RLA test, look for the answer that uses conjunctions correctly and preserves the sentence’s original meaning.

A comma splice is accidentally using a comma instead of a semicolon to connect two independent clauses. You use semicolons to connect two independent clauses about the same subject without a coordinating conjunction.

• Comma Splice: Jeff is a great cook, he’s been studying cooking for a decade.
• Fixed: Jeff is a great cook; he’s been studying cooking for a decade.

Note
Pay close attention whenever you see a semicolon. Make sure an independent clause exists to its left and right.

Parallelism

Parallelism is a skill all good writers follow. It refers to using the same grammatical constructions throughout a sentence. Here are two examples.

• Parallel: Naomi loves swimming, dancing, and cooking!
• Unparallel: Naomi loves to swim, dancing, and cooking!

See how the first verb in the unaparallel example doesn’t end with ‘-ing’? That makes the sentence grammatically incorrect. If the writer wanted to make the entire sentence using the ‘to’ construction, they would write, “Naomi loves to swim, dance, and cook.”