What Is a Run On Sentence

What is a run-on sentence, and how do I fix it? Overview A  run-­‐on  sentence  is  two  or  more  independent  clauses  incorrectly  presented  in  a  single  sentence.  This  can   be  highly  distracting  to  readers  and  prevent  the  writer  from  successfully  communicating  key  information.   General Considerations Fused  sentence  and  comma  splice  are  two  terms  that  describe  specific  kinds   of  run-­‐on  sentences.  When  two  or  more  independent  clauses  are  included   in  a  single  sentence  with  no  punctuation  between  them,  this  is  a  fused   sentence.     Class  began  the  professor  lectured.   The  professor  lectured  students  took  notes.   When  two  or  more  independent  clauses  are  included  in  a  single  sentence   separated  only  by  commas,  this  is  a  comma  splice.     The  professor  lectured,  students  took  notes.   Class  began,  the  professor  lectured,  students  took  notes.   An  independent  clause   is  a  group  of  words  that   contains  a  subject  and   verb  and  is  by  itself  a   complete  sentence.    A   few  simple  examples   would  be:     Class  began.   The  professor  lectured.   Students  took  notes.   In Practice Run-­‐on  sentences  can  be  fixed  in  a  number  of  ways,  some  of  which  can  help  add  variety,  flair,  or   sophistication  to  your  writing.     1. The  easiest  way  to  fix  a  run-­‐on  sentence  is  to  punctuate  each  independent  clause  with  a  period. The  professor  lectured.  The  students  took  notes.   Class  began.  The  professor  lectured.  Students  took  notes.   These  sentences  are  grammatically  correct,  but  if  you  think  you  might  like  more  variety  in  your  sentences,   other  solutions  might  be  better.   2. Another  relatively  easy  way  to  fix  run-­‐ons  is  to  separate  independent  clauses  with  semicolons. Class  began;  the  professor  lectured.   The  professor  lectured;  students  took  notes.   The  semicolon  is  a  good  solution  if  you  have  two  independent  clauses  in  your  run-­‐on  sentence.  If  you  have   three  independent  clauses,  inserting  two  semi-­‐colons  is  technically  correct,  but  may  look  awkward  to   readers.   Class  began;  the  professor  lectured;  students  took  notes.   There  are  other,  better  options  for  repairing  a  run-­‐on  sentence  with  three  independent  clauses.   3. You  can  also  fix  a  run-­‐on  using  one  or  more  commas  and  one  of  the  following  coordinating conjunctions:  and,  but,  so,  or,  nor,  for. Class  began,  and  the  professor  lectured.   The  professor  lectured,  so  the  students  took  notes.   In  these  examples,  two  independent  clauses  are  being  joined,  and  one  comma  before  the  conjunction  is   all  that  is  necessary.  However,  to  join  three  independent  clauses,  insert  a  comma  after  the  first  two.   Class  began,  the  professor  lectured,  and  students  took  notes.   This  is  often  a  very  effective  way  to  repair  a  run-­‐on  with  three  independent  clauses.   4. The  most  sophisticated  way  to  fix  a  run-­‐on  is  to  subordinate  one  of  the  independent  clauses.  When  you subordinate  a  clause,  you  change  the  wording  so  that  it  is  a  dependent  rather  than  an  independent  clause. When  class  began  the  professor  lectured.   The  professor  lectured  while  the  students  took  notes.   Adding  “when”  and  “while”  to  what  had  formerly  been  independent  clauses  made  them  dependent   clauses  that  could  be  joined  to  an  independent  clause  with  no  punctuation.  Sometimes,  when  you   subordinate  a  clause,  you  may  need  a  comma.   5. Any  of  the  solutions  above  are  great  ways  to  repair  a  run-­‐on.  Once  you  are  familiar  with  them,  you  can use  them  together  to  add  even  more  variety  to  your  writing.  The  following  sentence  uses  solutions  1  and 3:  Class  began.  The  professor  lectured,  and  students  took  notes. This  sentence  uses  solutions  1  and  4:  When  class  began,  the  professor  lectured.  Students  took  notes.   This  one  uses  solutions  2  and  4:  When  class  began,  the  professor  lectured;  students  took  notes.   Exercises Revise  these  sentences  to  eliminate  run-­‐ons.  [Note:  One  sentence  requires  no  editing.]   1. Scholars  argue  about  the  veracity  of  this  claim  this  paper  will  defend  it. 2. The  experiment  was  a  success,  my  lab  group  and  I  were  pleased  with  the  results. 3. Historians  have  one  view  of  this  evidence,  while  religious  authorities  have  a  different  view. 4. My  research  resulted  in  three  useful  articles,  I  will  use  them  as  evidence  for  my  thesis. 5. This  method  has  some  advantages  other  methods  are  less  promising.