Which term best describes a sentence that uses a coordinating conjunction?

A sentence that uses a coordinating conjunction is best described as a compound sentence. A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses that are connected by coordinating conjunctions such as "and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet." These conjunctions allow the clauses to stand alone but also to be joined for more complex ideas.

For example, the sentence "I wanted to go to the park, but it started to rain" combines two independent clauses using the coordinating conjunction "but." This structure is key to producing more sophisticated sentence forms and effectively conveying relationships between ideas.

In contrast, a complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and one dependent clause, while a simple sentence consists of a single independent clause. An interrogative sentence, on the other hand, is designed to ask a question and does not inherently indicate how independent clauses are connected.