Many students believe that filling an essay with long, complex sentences is better and more academic than writing short simple sentences. However, this is not entirely true. First of all, keep in mind that the "simple" in simple sentence refers to the simplicity of the structure, not the ideas within the sentence or the vocabulary choice.
  • The economic collapse of 2008 brought several countries to the brink of complete financial and social ruin.
Also keep in mind that good writing contains a variety of sentence structures, styles and lengths. Therefore, too many long, complex sentences can be just as unpleasant to read as too many short, simple sentences. Try to vary the length and style of your sentences. If too many sentences are short, combine them; conversely, if too many sentences are really long, divide them into individual ideas.

Cause and Effect Verbs

Students often overuse transitions (therefore, as a result) and conjunctions (because, since) when there is a long list of verbs that can be effectively used to express cause and effect. Here are some examples of common cause and effect verbs:
  • determine
  • produce
  • trigger
  • inhibit
  • lead to
  • stimulate
  • motivate
  • induce
  • hinder
  • bring about
  • generate
  • faciliate
  • provoke
  • delay
  • give rise to
  • result in
  • result from
  • stem from
  • account for
  • contribute to
Consider the effectiveness of these two sentences:
  • Companies are clear-cutting in the rainforest, so the forests are losing their biodiversity.
  • Clear-cutting in the rainforests has contributed to the loss of biodiversity.
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