Sentence complexity appropriate to register

In The file arrived, and we checked it, two main clauses are coordinated. In Because the file arrived late, we postponed the check, the subordinate clause names the cause and the main clause gives the result. Parataxis and hypotaxis describe these ways of organising clauses, not two mutually exclusive registers.

Cause, time, condition, and concession are not interchangeable. After gives a sequence but does not itself assert a cause. Although highlights an outcome contrary to expectation. If leaves a condition open. Do not add a logical connection merely to make a sentence more complex.

A sentence can be long because of a list or an expanded noun phrase without having several levels of subordination. Conversely, a short utterance can embed one message inside another: I know she thinks it works. For practical editing, distinguish word count, clause count, and how many qualifications must be held in mind before the main thought is complete.

The corpus study by Biber, Gray, and Poonpon compares conversation and research articles: many subordinate clause types are more frequent in conversation, while expanded noun phrases characterise academic texts. These are tendencies in the registers studied, not a ban on subordination in articles. Lexical density is also different from embedding depth.

In a report, a subordinate clause can appropriately limit a conclusion, identify a group of participants, or state a condition. However, details inserted between subject and main verb make the reader wait longer for the thought to finish. Move background information into another sentence if it obscures the decision.

A text's official status does not require heavy syntax: GOV.UK guidance, for example, recommends clear, accessible language and short sentences. Such editorial requirements belong to an audience and organisation, not universal grammar. Follow the brief rather than an imagined word-count standard for every formal genre.

A listener cannot always return to the beginning of a sentence. If they lose the main idea, divide the message into meaningful steps and explicitly repeat the relevant participant. This does not mean banning because, if, what, or that: these often help make a spoken utterance clear.

A chain joined with and can be fully grammatical. In ordinary edited writing, a run-on involves improperly connected independent clauses; it is not the name for every long sentence. Short elliptical utterances are also possible in conversation, but full sentences suffice for most rewrites here; special fragment rules are not the lesson's target.

Before rewriting, mentally list who acts, what happened, when, how much or how many, what is negated, what is only possible, and what the result depends on. Check each item afterwards. May does not become will because the sentence is shorter; if cannot simply be discarded.

Preserve attribution separately: The supervisor said that the technician suspected a fault does not assert that the fault is proven. When unpacking a report, do not turn someone's suspicion into an established fact. If the brief permits removing minor details, call that abridgment rather than complete preservation of meaning.

When modifiers intervene between subject and predicate, do not agree the verb with the nearest noun instead of the actual subject. In The list of changes is ready, the head is list. A relative clause likewise does not change the main subject's number.

In an ordinary initial participial construction without its own subject, the performer should correspond to the main clause's subject. Having checked the totals, the analyst… means that the analyst checked the figures. If the main subject becomes the table, the table is wrongly made the performer of the check. A full subordinate clause naming the performer avoids this attachment.

First express the main message in simple words. Then decide which facts to connect within one sentence and which to present separately. Read it aloud: is it clear which noun a qualification belongs to, where the condition ends, and who is responsible for what?

In open-ended exercises, the model is only one version. Different words, natural contractions, and a different distribution of information are possible if they meet the visible brief. Checking against criteria helps edit a response but is not an automatic expert assessment of style. C2 marks this topic's place in the catalogue, not a level that can be certified by counting subordinate clauses.