Run-on Sentences

Definition

Run-on sentences occur when two or more independent clauses are joined together without appropriate punctuation or conjunctions. This issue can lead to confusion for readers and muddles the clarity of writing, making it crucial to recognize and correct such errors for effective communication.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Run-on sentences can often confuse readers because they blend multiple ideas into one long, unwieldy sentence.
2. Correcting run-on sentences typically involves using punctuation such as periods, semicolons, or conjunctions to separate independent clauses.
3. One common mistake is the comma splice, which can be easily fixed by replacing the comma with a semicolon or adding a coordinating conjunction.
4. To avoid run-on sentences, it's important to keep an eye on sentence length and complexity, breaking up longer thoughts into clearer segments.
5. Good writing emphasizes clarity, and avoiding run-on sentences contributes significantly to making your point more understandable to the audience.

Review Questions

• How can identifying run-on sentences improve overall writing clarity?
  • Identifying run-on sentences is essential because these types of errors can obscure the writer's intended message. By recognizing and correcting run-ons, writers can break complex ideas into manageable parts, making them clearer and easier to understand. This improves overall writing quality and helps maintain reader engagement.
• What strategies can be used to correct run-on sentences effectively?
  • To correct run-on sentences effectively, writers can employ several strategies. One common method is to split the run-on into separate sentences using periods. Another approach is to use semicolons to connect closely related ideas. Additionally, adding coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) can help create clearer connections between independent clauses while maintaining grammatical accuracy.
• Evaluate how the presence of run-on sentences might affect a news article's credibility and reader engagement.
  • The presence of run-on sentences in a news article can significantly undermine its credibility by making it appear unprofessional or poorly edited. When readers encounter unclear or confusing sentences, they may struggle to grasp the main points being communicated, leading to disengagement. As clarity is paramount in journalism, excessive run-ons can distract from key information, potentially diminishing trust in the source and affecting the article's overall impact on the audience.

Related terms

Independent Clause: A group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought, capable of standing alone as a sentence.

Comma Splice: An error that occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction, which is a specific type of run-on sentence.

Sentence Fragment: A group of words that does not express a complete thought and is usually missing a subject or a verb, often mistakenly believed to be a complete sentence.