C OMMA S PLICES AND R UN -O NS

C OMMA S PLICES In a comma splice, two independent clauses are jammed together into one sentence with only a comma to try to hold them together. Aunt Sally ran into the room, Tom was already gone. They have nothing in common. There are several ways to fix this sentence. The easiest way would be to break it up into two sentences. Aunt Sally ran into the room. Tom was already gone.

C OMMA S PLICES If there is a clear reason that one clause might be connected to the other (for example, if Tom has just broken Aunt Sally’s vase), you can also fix it by putting a conjunction (such as “and” or “but”) between the two. Aunt Sally ran into the room, but Tom was already gone. You can also break up the two thoughts with a semicolon instead of a period. Aunt Sally arrived home several hours later; Tom was already gone.

R UN -O N S ENTENCE A run-on sentence is the same thing as a comma splice, but without the comma. Aunt Sally swept up the shards of glass she was furious. Again, the easiest way to solve the problem is to break up the sentence into two new sentences. Aunt Sally swept up the shards of glass. She was furious. A run-on sentence is often much longer than the above example, running on and on, you might actually run out of breath if you read it out loud and then wonder whether perhaps it would have been better to split it up into more than one sentence. (This is an example of a run-on sentence)

ACT Here’s how a comma splice or run-on sentence might look on the ACT: There is not much difference between the decision to enter politics and the decision to jump into a pit full of rattlesnakes, in fact, you might find a friendlier environment in the snake pit. A. No Change B. rattlesnakes. In fact, C. rattlesnakes in fact D. rattlesnakes, in fact

ACT The college’s plans for expansion include a new science building and a new dormitory if the funding drive is successful, there will be enough money for both. A. No Change B. dormitory, if C. dormitory; if, D. dormitory. If

W ORK C ITED Martz, Geoff, Kim Magloire, and Theodore Silver. Cracking the ACT ed. New York: Random House, 2007.