Download Understanding Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences: A Writing Guide and more Exams Grammar and Composition in PDF only on Docsity! Break the independent clauses into separate sentences. This is the best solution when your sentence itself is long or when the two independent clauses are relatively unrelated in thought: Political polarization in America has grown sharper and more damaging in the 21st century, the chief reason may be the rise of social media, which immerses users in a customized information landscape. Use a semicolon. This is the best solution when you want to show a relationship between the two independent clauses or when you want a longer sentence to break up the rhythm of a paragraph with lots of short sentences. Political polarization has grown sharper and more damaging in the 21st century; the timing is not coincidental, given the influence of social media. Use a coordinating conjunction. A coordinating conjunction links independent clauses. There are seven coordinating conjunctions, and you can remember them using the acronym FAN BOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Political polarization has grown sharper and more damaging in the 21st century, and the timing is not coincidental, given the influence of social media. An independent clause refers to agroup of words that can stand on itsown as a sentence. Thismeans that an independent clausehas both a subject and a predicate. For example: Mary went to the store She drove her new car A comma splice refers to a sentence in which two or more independent clauses have been “spliced” together with only a comma: Mary went to the store, she drove her new car Similarly, a run-on sentence refers to a sentence in which two or more independent clauses have simply run together, without commas or other forms of punctuation: Mary went to the store she drove her new car At best, comma splices and run-on sentences clutter your paper and create a mild distraction for your reader. At worst, comma splices and run-ons suggest that you do not have full control over your material. They can indicate that you have not determined where one thought ends and a new one begins. Fortunately, there are three easy ways to fix comma splices and run-on sentences. comma splices + run-on sentences USC Writing Center Summer 2020
