Welcome to our Workshop!Today we will be discussing Run-On Sentences

and Fragment Sentences, two very common errors in people’s writing.

Objectives

What Will You Learn from this Workshop?

•What a Run-on Sentence is.•What a Fragment Sentence is.•How to fix these common errors.

The Sentence

What is a sentence?

• A sentence is a group of words that make a complete thought.

• A sentence always has a SUBJECT and a VERB.• A sentence is also called an INDEPENDENT

CLAUSE.

What is the SUBJECT?

• The SUBJECT of the sentence is who or what you are talking about.

• Examples: my grandma, President Obama, Disneyland, cats, a bed.

What is a VERB?

• The VERB is the action of the sentence. • It says what the SUBJECT is doing.• Examples: to run, to sleep, to be, to write, to

love.

• *Note*: “to” + the VERB = “the infinitive” (How the verb looks in the dictionary).

What is a Fragment?

• A Fragment is an incomplete sentence.• It is also called a DEPENDENT CLAUSE.• Sometimes it is missing either the subject or the verb.• Sometimes it has a subject and a verb, but it still isn’t a

complete thought.

• Examples: 1. Running very fast. Who is running?2. John likes. Not a complete thought (what does he like?).3. Because I am a girl Not a complete though (what is the

result?)

Exercise:

Connecting Sentences

Now that you know what a complete sentence looks like, you will learn how to connect two or more complete sentences together.

What is a Run-On Sentence?

• A Run-on Sentence is two or more complete sentences that have no punctuation mark to connect them.

• It is one of the most common mistakes people make it their writing.

How do you connect two complete sentences?

There are three ways to connect sentences.

• A period .• A semicolon ;• A coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) For,

And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

The Period [ . ]

The Period is the simplest and most common way to end a sentence.

Example:I am a student at LAVC. I Love the Writing Center.

The Semicolon (;)

The Semicolon is used to connect two complete sentences that are related in idea. The semicolon can’t be used if the sentences aren’t related.

*Note: Limit the number of semicolons that you use—approximately one per paragraph.

Example: Horses are my favorite animal; they are so majestic.

Coordinating Conjunctions(FANBOYS)

• Coordinating Conjunctions are seven words that help connect two complete sentences.

• They are: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So• You can remember them as “FANBOYS”

Examples of Coordinating Conjunction

• Yesterday I lost my wallet, so I need to cancel my credit cards.

• My brother is coming to town, and I am so excited to see him.

• The professor is very nice, but he is a very hard grader.

*Note: • After the conjunction, there is a new subject and verb, which should tell you that

you have a new complete sentence. • Before the conjunction, you need to have a COMMA ( , ).

How to spot a Run-on SentenceHere is an example of a run-on sentence:• My favorite movie is Superbad it is really funny.

*Here you have two complete sentences with no punctuation mark or conjunction to connect

them. This is what the sentence should/could say:

• My favorite movie is Superbad; it is really funny.

Exercise

Thanks for coming to the workshop!

Our next one will be tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. on MLA format

Goodbye!!