Avoiding Run-Ons

• A run-on sentence is two or more sentences capitalized and punctuated as if they were a single sentence.

A run-on sentence occurs when two independent clauses are joined together in an improper way. Sometimes, there is no punctuation mark separating the clauses. Other times, there is only a comma separating the clauses. (This second type of run-on sentences is known as a comma splice)

One way to correct a run-on sentence is to separate the independent clauses with a semicolon (and, when appropriate, a transitional word or phrase). Another way to separate them is with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. A third way is to turn on the independent clauses into a dependent clauses by adding a subordinating conjunction to the beginning.