Students should be able to use complex sentences when they are writing or editing a text. They should understand that a complex sentence has an independent clause and at least one dependent clause (e.g., “I cleaned the room when the guests left.”). An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It always makes a complete thought (e.g., “I cleaned the room”). A dependent clause cannot stand alone, even though it has a subject and a verb (e.g., “when the guests left”).

During the editing stage of the writing process, students further improve their drafts and often prepare them for publishing by correcting errors, adding clarity, and using more precise and effective word choice. Students add, delete, or rearrange words or sentences and remove unnecessary information.

standard rules of the English language, including written mechanics such as punctuation, capitalization, spelling, paragraphing, etc. and written/oral grammar such as parts of speech, word order, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure

Students are expected to use a subordinating conjunction in their writing as a tool to determine the relationship between the ideas in a sentence. Students should understand that a subordinating conjunction has two functions. First, it provides a necessary transition between the two ideas in the sentence. This transition will indicate a time, place, or cause-and-effect relationship. For example, "We looked on top of the refrigerator, where LaTonya often hides a bag of chocolate chip cookies." The second function of the subordinate conjunction is to reduce the importance of one clause so a reader understands which of the two ideas is more important. The more important idea belongs in the main clause, the less important in the clause introduced by the subordinate conjunction. In the following example, the less important clause is being introduced by the subordinating conjunction whenever: "Roberto begins to sneeze violently whenever he opens the door to greet a fresh spring day."