Australian Curriculum v9 / ACiQ Year 7 English - Unit 3 - Complex sentences, tense and cohesion

Complex sentences, tense and cohesion

Build complex and compound-complex sentences, maintain tense and connect ideas cohesively.

Updated 2026-07-24 - 7 min read

Build complex and compound-complex sentences, maintain tense and connect ideas cohesively. This target belongs to an integrated English program: students read and view closely, discuss ideas, and use what they notice when writing, creating or speaking.

What success looks like

  • I combine clauses using a conjunction that shows the intended relationship.
  • I maintain a clear tense and viewpoint unless meaning requires a change.
  • I use reference and connectives so ideas link without ambiguity.

A strong response makes decisions visible. It does not merely name a feature or give a personal reaction. It identifies the relevant detail, uses accurate English metalanguage and explains how the detail serves meaning, audience, purpose or context.

Core vocabulary and concepts

| Term | Working meaning | | --- | --- | | independent clause | A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. | | dependent clause | A clause that relies on another clause to complete its meaning. | | complex sentence | A sentence containing an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. | | compound-complex sentence | A sentence with at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. | | cohesion | The language links that help a reader follow relationships across a text. | | reference | Use of nouns, pronouns or pointing words to connect to people, things or ideas. | | tense consistency | Maintaining a clear time frame through controlled verb choices. | | connective | A word or phrase that signals a relationship such as cause, contrast or sequence. |

Learn each definition as a decision tool, not as an isolated label. When two terms seem possible, ask which one most precisely describes the job performed in the stimulus.

A reliable process

  1. Underline the main idea of each sentence.
  2. Circle connectives and reference words.
  3. Check that every pronoun has a clear referent.
  4. Track the tense through verb groups.
  5. Revise any link or shift that obscures meaning.

The process is flexible enough for written, visual, spoken and multimodal texts. Evidence might be a short quotation, a paraphrased action, layout, framing, gesture, tone, pace, sound or sequence. State exactly what evidence is available instead of inventing missing information.

Worked examples

Worked example 1

Stimulus: The writer needs to connect rain with a cancelled match.

Question: Which sentence shows clear cause?

Strong response: Because the oval flooded overnight, the match was cancelled.

Why it works: The dependent clause supplies the cause and the independent clause states the result.

Worked example 2

Stimulus: Yesterday we walk to the creek and recorded the water level.

Question: Which edit fixes tense consistency?

Strong response: Yesterday we walked to the creek and recorded the water level.

Why it works: Both coordinated verbs now match the past-time marker.

Worked example 3

Stimulus: Ava told Mia that the model was ready, and she smiled.

Question: Which reference is clearest?

Strong response: Ava told Mia that the model was ready, and Ava smiled.

Why it works: Repeating the name removes uncertainty about who smiled.

Notice that each worked response answers the exact question. The explanation does not claim more than the evidence can support. This is the difference between an interpretation and an unsupported guess.

Diagnose and repair common errors

  • long means complex: Identify clauses and the logical relationship among them; word count does not determine sentence type.
  • tense shift without purpose: Choose a time frame and change tense only when the meaning requires a real time shift.
  • pronoun without reference: Make sure each pronoun points unambiguously to a nearby noun.

Repair: When the bus arrived, we ran to the stop.

The dependent clause is joined to the independent clause, repairing the fragment and showing time.

Guided practice

Use one of the worked stimuli above.

  1. Underline the words in the question that set the purpose.
  2. Circle or list two possible details from the stimulus.
  3. Choose the detail that most directly answers the question.
  4. Write one sentence that names the feature or idea.
  5. Add a sentence explaining the connection.
  6. Compare the result with all three success criteria.

If the task is automatically marked, read the worked solution after answering. If it is an open response, use the rubric and exemplar. An open response is an activity for feedback and revision; it is not presented as objectively mastered.

Independent practice

  1. Combine the ideas into a clear compound-complex sentence. Stimulus: The trail reopened. Workers repaired the bridge. The river level had fallen.
  1. Edit the paragraph for tense and reference clarity. Stimulus: Lena showed Priya the draft. She says the heading was unclear. Then she changed it and submits the page.

After drafting, annotate where the response meets each rubric criterion. Revise the weakest criterion first. Do not copy the exemplar: compare its decisions with your own and then improve your own wording.

Transfer task

  • Reading: locate the precise textual evidence before interpreting it.
  • Viewing: treat framing, angle, salience, layout and sequence as evidence when present.
  • Writing: organise the response so claims, evidence and explanation form a clear line.
  • Creating: select language and multimodal features deliberately for an audience and purpose.
  • Speaking: rehearse pace, tone and emphasis, then seek evidence-based feedback.

The target is secure only when the same reasoning transfers to a fresh context after a delay. A correct recognition item is useful formative evidence, but sustained open writing and speaking still require human or rubric-guided judgement.

Self-check before submission

  • [ ] I combine clauses using a conjunction that shows the intended relationship.
  • [ ] I maintain a clear tense and viewpoint unless meaning requires a change.
  • [ ] I use reference and connectives so ideas link without ambiguity.
  • [ ] I used evidence actually present in the stimulus.
  • [ ] I avoided plot retell, feature spotting and unsupported generalisation.
  • [ ] I revised the explanation rather than merely adding more words.

Assessment evidence and stimulus record

Every assessed stimulus must carry its mode, creator or custodian, provenance, rights or licence status, permitted use, Year 7 age-suitability decision and an accessible equivalent. The practice bank uses original Sylligence microtexts across written, spoken-transcript, visual-description and multimodal-description modes. The framing states when no tone, colour or hidden image detail may be inferred.

Where this pack declares a sustained stimulus pathway, use the complete anchor or the named linked parts before judging comprehension, structure, character, theme, craft or comparison. A short extract can diagnose a precise decision, but it cannot replace the whole-text evidence named by the task.

For written work, collect the response plus a self-check against the task-specific rubric. A correct recognition item supports practice, but sustained creation or analysis requires evidence a teacher or reviewer can check.

Open work uses a task-specific rubric. The criteria name the exact task, target skill, required stimulus evidence and mode control. Open responses remain activity only until a qualified teacher or reviewer has judged the actual response against the rubric.

Sources