Academic English for International Exams

Course Book

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It is possible to connect many ideas into long groups in order to express relationships between them.

Coordinate conjunctions for parallel structures:

  • And - shows an equal link where two ideas agree
  • But - shows two ideas that offer different opinions
  • Or - has three uses: choice; consequences; two negative ideas that are similar
  • So - shows result of an action.

    • Co-relative (paired) conjunctions for parallel structures:

    1. either ... or ...
    2. neither ... nor
    3. both ... and ...

    Note: parallelism is very important here!

    For example:
    Leonardo da Vinci studied not only in Rome but also in Florence.
    I like both French food and Thai food.

    Combine these ideas with the appropriate conjunction - and, or, but, so. Remove any unnecessary repetition. There is often more than one correct answer.

    e.g. Homer wrote the Iliad, Homer wrote the Odyssey. - Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey.

    1. Historians know that Homer lived in Greece. Historians know that Homer lived in the 7th century B.C.
    2. Homer may have lived in the 6th century B.C. Homer may have lived in the 5th century B.C.
    3. Homer may have been from Athens. Homer may have been from Sparta.
    4. There are no written records about Homers life. Historians cannot be sure about his history.
    5. Homer wrote the first book in Europe. Homer is considered the father of European literature.
    6. We know where Homer lived. We don't know when Homer lived.
    7. The books could have been written by one man. They could have been written by many people.

    The following paragraphs are not very clear, and there is too much repetition. Re¬write parts of the paragraphs using coordinate conjunctions.

    The Mystery of "Homer"

    Although he is considered the father of western literature, Homer is a remarkably badly-known individual. In fact, there is no consensus on whether such a person actually existed.

    There are two common theories about Homer. One theory says that he was a real person. The other theory is that he was not real. The first theory claims that Homer lived in ancient Greece, probably in Athens. He took part in the attack on Troy. Therefore, he could record everything that took place. This theory requires that the Trojan War really took place. However, the heroes don't have to be real.

    The second theory claims two things: first, Homer was a real person. Second, the story was actually passed down orally from generation to generation.

    Most likely, we will never know for sure. Archaeologists might make some discoveries in the future, however, which will explain the history of Homer once and for all.

    The Trojan Horse

    One of the most famous tricks in history is the trick of the Trojan Horse. The Trojan Horse is also one of the most famous tricks in the history of the military.

    The story of the Trojan Horse is set in the Trojan War. It is also set in the city of Troy. This situation was described by the Greek poet Homer in his poem The Iliad.

    The Iliad tells of the Trojan War. The Trojan prince Paris kidnapped the wife of the Greek king Agamemnon, Helen. Then Paris took Helen to Troy. Agamemnon called his friends. They went to Troy to recapture Helen.

    The goddess Athena was protecting the walls of Troy, and even though Agamemnon had the strongest warrior in Greek history - Achilles - his army could not win. Eventually, they built a huge wooden horse. A group of soldiers went inside this horse. Then, the Greek army pushed this horse to the gates of the city. Then, they left.

    The Trojans didn't expect any problems. They took the horse inside the walls of the city. That night, the Greek soldiers opened the horse and attacked. They attacked from inside the walls. Therefore, Athena could not harm them. They opened the gates, The Greek army returned. The Greek army destroyed Troy.

    Combine these sentences using co-relative conjunctions, and remove any repetition. Use two structures where possible.

    e.g. Leonardo da Vinci studied design. He also studied architecture.
    Leonardo da Vinci studied both design and architecture.
    Leonardo da Vinci studied not only design but also architecture.

    1. Leonardo da Vinci was the first to paint sfumato. He was also the first to paint texture.
    2. Leonardo painted churches. He also painted private homes.
    3. Leonardo taught himself anatomy. He taught himself painting.
    4. Some people think of Leonardo as an engineer. Some people think of Leonardo as a painter.
    5. People from Vinci say that Leonardo was born there. People from Anchiano say Leonardo was born there..
    6. Leonardo was not Baptist, He was not Lutheran.
    7. Leonardo enjoyed painting people. He enjoyed painting still-life.

    In the following paragraphs, all of the sentences have been broken down into simple clauses. Organize these paragraphs and arrange the sentences in order of most important to least important.

    First, write an appropriate topic sentence for the paragraph. Remember - a good topic sentence has a topic and controlling idea, which is your opinion about the topic. Also, a good topic sentence includes all main ideas of the paragraph, so it is very general. Second, combine the phrases which can be connected using the appropriate conjunction.

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare was born in England.

    William Shakespeare was born in a small village called Avon.

    William Shakespeare was born in 1564.

    William Shakespeare's father died when he was very little.

    William Shakespeare's father was a soldier.

    William Shakespeare's mother was rich.

    William Shakespeare's mother owned a lot of land.

    William Shakespeare went to boarding school.

    William Shakespeare's boarding school was very famous.

    William Shakespeare did not like his boarding school.

    Michelangelo Buonarotti

    Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor.

    Michelangelo was an Italian architect.

    Michelangelo was an Italian painter.

    Michelangelo was an Italian poet.

    Michelangelo was an Italian in the period known as the High Renaissance.

    His great works were almost entirely in the service of the Catholic Church.

    Michelangelo's works include a huge statue of the Biblical hero David in Florence.

    David was sculpted between 1501 and 1504.

    Michelangelo also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome between 1508 and 1512.

    After 1519 Michelangelo was increasingly active in architecture.

    Michelangelo designed the dome St. Peter's Basilica.

    The dome of St. Peter's Basilica was completed after his death.

    Oscar Wilde

    Oscar Wilde was born in Ireland.

    Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin.

    Oscar Wilde was born in 1854.

    Oscar Wilde was a playwright.

    Oscar Wilde was a novelist.

    Oscar Wilde wrote in many newspapers.

    Oscar Wilde was charged with homosexuality.

    Oscar Wilde had a very famous trial.

    Oscar Wilde was sent to prison for a very long time.

    Bram Stoker

    Bram Stoker was born in Dublin.

    Bram Stoker was born in 1847.

    Bram Stoker couldn't walk when he was young.

    Bram. Stoker learned to walk when he was 7 years old.

    Bram Stoker's mother was a feminist leader.

    Bram Stoker had 6 brothers and sisters.

    Bram Stoker was married in 1878.

    Bram Stoker moved to London in 1878.

    Bram Stoker became manager of a theatre in 1878.

    Bram Stoker wrote Dracula.

    Bram Stoker did a lot of research before publishing Dracula.

    Bram Stoker published Dracula in 1897.