Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses are written one after another
with no punctuation. A similar error happens when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a
comma without a coordinating conjunction. This kind of error is called a comma splice.

Run-on: My family went to Australia then they emigrated to Canada.

Comma splice: My family went to Australia, then they emigrated to Canada.

The ways to correct these two sentence errors are the same.

1. Add a period:
My family went to Australia. Then they emigrated to Canada.
2. Add a semi-colon:
My family went to Australia; then they emigrated to Canada.
3. Add a coordinator:
My family went to Australia, and then they emigrated to Canada.
4. Add a subordinator:
My family went to Australia before they emigrated to Canada.
After my family went to Australia, they emigrated to Canada.

Practice 1 Correct the following run-on/comma splice sentences using the method indicated.

1. A newly-arrived international student faces several challenges, for example, he or she has to
cope with a new culture.
a. Add a period:
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b. Add a semicolon:
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c. New York City is very cosmopolitan, people from many cultures and ethnic groups live there.
d. Add a period:
_________________________________________________________________

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e. Add a semicolon:
_________________________________________________________________

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f. Add a subordinator:
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g. Add a coordinator:
_________________________________________________________________

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2. Learning a new language is like learning to swim it takes practice.

a. Add a coordinator:
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Ask for assistance at the reference desk in the library, a librarian is always on duty.
 h. Add a semicolon:
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Skiing is a dangerous sport you can easily break you leg or your neck.

i. Add a subordinator:
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Practice 2 Some of the following sentences are run-ons or comma splices, and some are correct.
Check each sentence. If it is incorrect, write RO or CS in the space at the left. If it is correct, leave
the space blank. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, correct the incorrect sentences.

____RO____ 1. Two letters arrived on Monday a third one came on Wednesday.

__________ 2. An encyclopedia is a valuable source of information it contains summaries of

__________ 3. Because of the rapid expansion of human knowledge, it is difficult to keep

__________4. A printed encyclopedia becomes out of date almost as soon as it is published also
it is quite expensive to purchase.

__________5. Online encyclopedias are available to everyone with access to the Internet.

__________6. Articles in encyclopedias are written by experts in each subject, who are often
university professors.

__________7. An editor of an encyclopedia does not write articles he only collects and edits
articles written by subject experts.

__________8. To find a book on a certain subject, you used to look in a card catalogue, to find a
magazine article on a subject, you used to look in a periodical index.

Practice 3 Locate the run-on/comma splice sentences in the following paragraphs. Mark them by writing
RO or CS above them. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, rewrite both paragraphs, correcting the
mistakes that you found. There are four errors.

Teachers at Stone Mountain College give higher grades than teachers at 12 of the 19 other
colleges in the state college system, according to a recent report from the State Institutional
Research Committee. This report showed that more than one-third of the undergraduate grades
awarded in the spring semester 2005 were A’s, only 1.1 percent were F’s. The percentage of A’s
awarded to graduate students was even higher, almost two-thirds were A’s.
While students may be happy to receive high grades, evidence suggests that this trend is
having negative consequences. Investigation of the admissions criteria of some graduate and
professional schools indicates that the admissions offices of these schools are discounting high
grades on the transcripts of SMSC students, this means that an A from SMSC is not equal to an A
from other universities. Grade inflation may, therefore, hurt a student from Stone Mountain
State College who intends to apply to a graduate or professional school he or she may not be
accepted despite a high grade point average.