Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards variety — but only accurate variety. Using complex structures incorrectly scores lower than using simple structures correctly. The strategy is to build a small set of reliable complex structures and use them deliberately.
Examples
Weak
Avoid"I think working from home is good because people can relax. It is also cheaper. People do not need to travel."
Stronger
Better"Working from home tends to improve wellbeing, primarily because it eliminates the daily commute, which many employees find more stressful than the work itself."
The strong version uses: a gerund subject (Working from home), a degree adverb (primarily), a relative clause (which many employees find), and a comparative (more stressful than). All four are accurate — that is what makes it Band 7.
How It Works
Four reliable complex structures
- Non-defining relative clause: "..., which is particularly important for..."
- Gerund subject: "Reducing emissions requires..."
- Conditional: "If governments invested more, the impact would be..."
- Participle phrase: "Having lived abroad, I understand how..."
When to deploy each
- Adding information: relative clause (which/where/who).
- Introducing a topic: gerund subject.
- Speculating: conditional (if/would).
- Personal experience: participle phrase (Having + past participle).
Model sentences
Quick rules
- One complex structure per answer is enough — do not stack them artificially.
- If you are unsure of a structure, use a simpler one accurately.
- Accuracy matters more than complexity at every band level.
Common Mistakes
Inaccurate complex structure
Avoid"Working from home, it is very good because employees they can relax more."
Better"Working from home tends to improve wellbeing, as employees can manage their own time."
Fix: Remove the pronoun echo ("it is," "they can") after a gerund subject — the gerund is already the subject.
All simple sentences
Avoid"The environment is important. We should protect it. Everyone should help."
Better"Protecting the environment is a collective responsibility, which means governments, businesses, and individuals must each play a role."
Fix: Link at least two of your simple sentences with a relative clause or participle — it shows range without risk.
Practice Lab
Self-mark each task. Retry until every answer is correct.
Score: 0/3
1. Quick pick
Which sentence demonstrates the best grammatical range?
2. Build it
Put the sentence in the correct order.
Tap a chunk to move it between the bank and answer area.
3. Sort it
Sort each item into the correct category.
Addressing poverty requires both economic growth and targeted redistribution.
Poverty it is a big problem and governments they should fix it.
If tuition fees were reduced, more students from low-income families would attend university.
If the government will reduce fees, students they can study more easily.
Why It Matters
Grammatical Range and Accuracy is 25% of your Speaking score. Band 7 requires "a variety of complex structures with some flexibility." Using four reliable structures accurately delivers this — attempting ten structures inaccurately does not. Quality of complexity beats quantity.
Get Feedback
Personalized score feedback
Get clear next-step advice.
Choose the support that matches your study goal.
Related Strategy Guides
Use these focused pages to go deeper on the exact test task behind this lesson.
Get free Band 7+ strategies every week
Get free Band 7+ strategies every week