To get students to eliminate run-on sentences, you need to help
students identify the boundaries of a sentence.
If you want to accomplish that task easily, scrap the textbook
terminology.
Do not use such English teacher jargon as
I will use the old fashioned terms here because they are the terms
most teachers use, but be forewarned:
At the end of this page, I'll give you a better term to use, one
that isn't as apt to mislead students. If you can't wait, you
can fast forward by clicking here, but don't forget to come back.
Test with tags, yes-no questions
Once more, we will build tag sentences and yes-no questions
from a word group bearing the boundary markers of a declarative
sentence.
In each set of examples, the first item A is the original "sentence,"
B is the tag sentence, and C is the yes-no question.
If you are unfamiliar with the use of tags and yes-no questions
in isolating subjects and verbs, you can learn about them at the
page about the subject of
a sentence, as well as several other pages as well.
Set 1: run-together sentences
A (Original).
Kathy got out the ladder she got out the plastic.
B. Kathy got out the ladder she
got out the plastic, didn't she?
C. Did Kathy get out the
ladder she get out the plastic ?
In this set, students might not see that A and B are fused sentences
or run on sentences. They will surely see something wrong in C.
Set 2: run-together sentences
A (Original). Maribeth
failed to notice the cat it was lying beneath the ladder
B. Maribeth failed to notice the
cat it was lying beneath the ladder, didn't she?
C. Did Maribeth fail to
notice the cat it was lying beneath the ladder?
In this set, items A and C don't sound too awfully bad to many
students. However, B will tell most students there is something
wrong with the original.
When in doubt: reverse
If students have any question about whether the item consists
of run on sentences disguised as a single sentence, they do the
exercise again. This time they reverse the order of the word
groups they think are sentences.
That reversal trick helps writers to figure out a tough situation
like set 3.
Set 3: run-together sentences
A (Original). Laura
made up her mind Jenny was still debating.
B. Laura made up her mind Jenny
was still debating, didn't she?
C. Did Laura make up her
mind Jenny was still debating?
If these sentences were spoken, students would know immediately
if the boundaries of the items are correctly marked. The meaning
of the written item is far less clear.
Reversing the order of the clauses gives us this set:
A (reversed). Jenny
was still debating Laura made up her mind.
B. Jenny was still debating Laura
made up her mind, didn't she?
C. Was Jenny was still
debating did Laura make up her mind?
A careful reading suggests that original item was two run on sentences
together. It would be simple to fix the original by adding one word
without changing the sentence boundaries. Do you know what that
repair would be?
Use term run-together sentences
Instead of the terms
Run-on sentence
-
Run-on sentences
Fused sentence
use the term run-together sentences. That label is far easier
for students to understand. Return to run on sentences
test sets.
By any name, run on
sentences arise from failure to recognize a complete sentence.
The same basic problem underlies the problems we call sentence
fragments.
Created 16-May-2009; revised 11-Jun-2009
