Common Mistakes in Writing

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Fused Sentences What are fused sentences and how can you fix them? Read these sentences and identify the correct one: I'm not sure which college I want to attend, Cindy also hasn't figured out where she wants to go yet. I'm not sure which college I want to attend. Cindy also hasn't figured out where she wants to go yet. If you think the second sentence is correct, you're right. The first sentence is a fused sentence, which is a type of run-on sentence. This error occurs when two or more independent clauses are incorrectly joined into a single sentence without a conjunction or appropriate punctuation. For example, look at this sentence: My editor threw Jack's article in the trash, she thinks he's a hack. Why is this sentence incorrect? It contains two complete sentences joined without proper punctuation or a conjunction. The problem can be fixed by creating two sentences: My editor threw Jack's article in the trash. She thinks he's a hack. A fused sentence also occurs when you try to join clauses with conjunctive adverbs such as however, although, therefore, and consequently, without the proper punctuation. For example, Many artists moved to the small village for inspiration and consequently the community has become a destination for art lovers. To correct this fused sentence use a semi-colon before and a comma after the conjunctive adverb: Many artists moved to the small village for inspiration; consequently, the community has become a destination for art lovers. To find out more on this topic, read through this list of conjunctive adverbs.

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Run-on Sentences and Independent Clauses Run-on sentences are compound sentences that aren't punctuated correctly. Two types of run-on sentences are fused sentences and comma splices. Before getting deeper into these two types of errors, let's revisit independent and subordinate clauses. An independent, or main, clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence; it expresses a complete thought. In other words, an independent clause has a subject and a predicate. Here's a simple example: Dogs bark. You can expand this basic clause by adding words, phrases, or clauses: Dogs bark and wag their tails when they are happy. You can combine two or more independent clauses to form compound sentences. Why would you want to join independent clauses? Well, combining closely related clauses makes their relationship clearer. For example: I enjoyed the movie; however, I don't think I'll watch it again. Here, the two ideas presented are so closely linked that separating them would make the writing sound choppy. A subordinate clause includes a noun and a verb, but it can't stand on its own: Because he would not listen to her side of the story. Since the main clause is missing in this sentence, the thought is incomplete.