Homework (for Monday, Sept. 21): Comma Splice

Students: The Please do the exercises for comma splices/fused sentences that you will find at this address: You will find three pages of exercises relating to comma splices and fused sentences at http://chompchomp.com/handouts/csfs01.pdf. Please do the first five exercises on each page.

Before you complete these exercises, please read the material below, which you can find at http://chompchomp.com/terms/commasplice.htm

Also due: You must bring an outline for your first composition. Your work on your outline will be worth a maximum of 10 points toward the final grade for this paper. Those points will be awarded at the end of class. You must be there to get full points.

The Comma Splice

Recognize a comma splice when you see one.

A comma splice, also called a run-on, occurs when a writer has connected two main clauses with a comma alone. Amain clause makes a complete thought, so you should not find a wimpy comma struggling to join two such powerful clauses.

The problem looks like this:

Main Clause + , + Main Clause.

Here is an example:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool, she had already burned the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

The first main clause is Jolene waited for it to cool, and the second is she had already burned the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks. Notice that the two clauses have only a comma connecting them.

Know how to fix a comma splice.

Fixing a comma splice is easy. All you have to do is pick one of the four available strategies.

Period + Capital Letter

First, you can break the error into two separate sentences, like this:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool. She had already burned the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

Comma + Coordinating Conjunction

Another good option is to connect the two main clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool, for she had already burned the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

Semicolon

You can also use a semicolon, a mark of punctuation as powerful as a period:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool; she had already burned the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

Subordination

Your last option is to use a subordinate conjunction. This method reduces one of the two clauses to an incomplete thought:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool since shehad already burned the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

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