Question

the death of alexander hamilton
sentence combining activity
directions: the following passage is interesting, but it is written almost entirely in simple sentences,
which makes the writing boring and childish. add sophistication to this writing by combining
sentences. rewrite the following passage. try to appropriately combine the following sentences.
you may add coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. use semicolons and commas.
hamiltons most famous portrait

the guy on the us ten - dollar bill is alexander hamilton. he was killed in a duel by vice president
aaron burr. hamilton was a revolutionary war hero. he was george washingtons right - hand man. he
was the first us secretary of the treasury. he formulated an economic policy that got america on its
feet.
aaron burr was a colonel in the continental army. he served with george washington at valley
forge. in the election of 1800, he was in a deadlock with thomas jefferson for the presidency. the
election went to the house of representatives to be decided. jefferson became the president. burr
became vice president.
hamilton had talked a lot of stuff about aaron burr before the election. some thought it may have cost
hamilton the presidency. the hatred between the two men would continue until july 1804. burr
challenged hamilton to a duel. hamilton accepted.
the fateful day came on july 11, 1804. vice president aaron burr and former secretary of the treasury
alexander hamilton faced off. hamilton was mortally wounded. he was dragged from the duelling area.
he died the next day. while the nation mourned, burr returned to complete his term as vice president.
his success in the duel proved to work toward his downfall. there was some talk of murder charges
being brought against him. however, the rules of the duel were followed. no indictment was carried
forward. he would later go on to be charged for treason. he attempted to establish his own empire in
the south.

Answer:

To complete this sentence - combining activity, we will combine the simple sentences into more complex ones using coordinating conjunctions (like and, but, or) and subordinating conjunctions (like because, although, when) to make the writing more sophisticated.

Paragraph 1 (About Alexander Hamilton)

• Original sentences: "The guy on the US ten - dollar bill is Alexander Hamilton. He was killed in a duel by Vice President Aaron Burr. Hamilton was a revolutionary war hero. He was George Washington's right - hand man. He was the first US Secretary of the Treasury. He formulated an economic policy that got America on its feet."
• Combined sentence: The guy on the US ten - dollar bill is Alexander Hamilton, who was a revolutionary war hero, George Washington's right - hand man, and the first US Secretary of the Treasury; he formulated an economic policy that got America on its feet, but he was killed in a duel by Vice President Aaron Burr.

Paragraph 2 (About Aaron Burr)

• Original sentences: "Aaron Burr was a colonel in the Continental Army. He served with George Washington at Valley Forge. In the election of 1800, he was in a deadlock with Thomas Jefferson for the presidency. The election went to the House of Representatives to be decided. Jefferson became the president. Burr became vice president."
• Combined sentence: Aaron Burr, who was a colonel in the Continental Army and served with George Washington at Valley Forge, was in a deadlock with Thomas Jefferson for the presidency in the election of 1800; the election went to the House of Representatives to be decided, and while Jefferson became the president, Burr became vice president.

Paragraph 3 (Hamilton and Burr's Conflict)

• Original sentences: "Hamilton had talked a lot of stuff about Aaron Burr before the election. Some thought it may have cost Hamilton the presidency. The hatred between the two men would continue until July 1804. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton accepted."
• Combined sentence: Hamilton had talked a lot of stuff about Aaron Burr before the election, and some thought it may have cost him the presidency; the hatred between the two men continued until July 1804, when Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and Hamilton accepted.

Paragraph 4 (The Duel and Aftermath)

• Original sentences: "The fateful day came on July 11, 1804. Vice President Aaron Burr and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton faced off. Hamilton was mortally wounded. He was dragged from the duelling area. He died the next day. While the nation mourned, Burr returned to complete his term as vice president. His success in the duel proved to work toward his downfall. There was some talk of murder charges being brought against him. However, the rules of the duel were followed. No indictment was carried forward. He would later go on to be charged for treason. He attempted to establish his own empire in the South."
• Combined sentence: The fateful day came on July 11, 1804, when Vice President Aaron Burr and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton faced off; Hamilton was mortally wounded, dragged from the duelling area, and died the next day, while the nation mourned and Burr returned to complete his term as vice president. Although his success in the duel was supposed to help him, it proved to work toward his downfall; there was some talk of murder charges being brought against him, but since the rules of the duel were followed, no indictment was carried forward, and he would later go on to be charged for treason as he attempted to establish his own empire in the South.

These combined sentences make the text flow more smoothly and have a more mature writing style, while still conveying all the original information.