Teach How to Avoid Run-On Sentences When Writing
Dec 03, 2021
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Write Correct Sentences Using a Simple Grammar Self-Check
Run-on sentences come in many forms, so they are easy to accidentally construct. Here are five ways to correct run-on sentences to make them grammatically complete.
When experimenting with varying their sentence structure, high school students often fall prey to the run-on sentence. While it is easy to write a run-on sentence, essay writers can identify common pitfalls and learn how to avoid them. Proper punctuation is key to correcting these pesky errors. Teachers can use this simple, concrete lesson to help students avoid these common grammar errors when writing.
Two Types of Run-On Sentences
A run-on sentence contains more than one complete thought that is improperly punctuated as a single sentence. There are two types of run-on sentences. Once students can identify these types, they are easier to avoid.
A fused sentence contains no punctuation at all between two complete sentences. Thus, ideas are fused together incorrectly. Here is an example of a fused sentence:
Mary and Sue went to the store they bought candy.
This sentence fuses together two complete thoughts without punctuation.
A comma splice occurs when two sentences are separated by a comma instead of a period. This common error can be viewed in the example below:
Mary and Sue went to the store, they bought candy.
While students can usually detect that a mark of punctuation is needed to separate these distinct thoughts, they often do not realize that a comma is not a strong enough mark of punctuation to serve the purpose.
How to Correct a Run-On Sentence
Teachers can use the following five tips when teaching students how to avoid writing run-on sentences.
- Students can make it two sentences. This can be achieved by inserting a period in between the two sentences:
Mary and Sue went to the store. They bought candy.
- You can use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (but, and, nor, for). These conjunctions help deepen the meaning of the sentence by suggesting relationships between words:
Mary and Sue went to the store, so they bought candy.
Here, a comma is inserted before the word so, suggesting a cause and effect relationship. This results in a compound sentence and helps add sentence variety to any student essay.
- Students can change one of the independent clauses to a subordinate clause while custom writing (which may start w/ although, while, because, since). This alteration will create a sentence with complex sentence structure:
Because Mary and Sue went to the store, they bought candy.
- You can use a semicolon. Semi-colons can be an amateur writer's best friend. The trick is two-fold. First, students should avoid overusing semi-colons; one per paragraph is usually sufficient. Second, treat the semi-colon as if it were a period, not a comma. That way, students will be careful to use semi-colons to separate ideas rather than tack on additional information:
Mary and Sue went to the store; they bought candy.
In the above example, a semi-colon serves to separate sentences but also to link similar ideas.
- You can use a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb (however, moreover, also, anyway, besides, instead, consequently, furthermore, otherwise, therefore, still). Conjunctive adverbs also deepen the meaning of a sentence; further, they help improve the flow of a sentence
Mary and Sue went to the store; consequently, they bought candy.
A bit of sentence analysis goes a long way with high school students. They don't need to be drilled with dozens of worksheets to have these simple points hit home; rather, they need to immediately implement these techniques into relevant tasks: their own writing. Once students understand more thoroughly how sentences are constructed and how punctuation helps connect-- or separate-- ideas, they will more likely experiment with their writing and break out of the monotonous habit of writing long, convoluted sentences that often – but not always – result in run-ons.
Tags: English