Summary:
Two independent clauses in one sentence need appropriate punctuation (colon, semi-colon, or dash), or a comma with an appropriate conjunction (and, but, when, etc.), between them.
What do they do to my writing?
The reason to avoid run-on sentences is because they make your writing appear slipshod, sound rushed, and potentially confusing for your reader. With no proper separation of independent clauses, your reader cannot digest the information you are presenting in clear, manageable chunks. Take this paragraph for instance:
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured and it likes to sit on my computer keyboard, it does this whenever I am trying to work it can be annoying but also amusing. If it finds that the keyboard is unavailable it moves towards the bookshelves and it might have been a scholar in one of its previous lives to love my books so much. The cat has become such a familiar sight in my study that it has become integral to its aesthetic and it is as much a part of the furnishing as the table, chair, typewriter, and bookshelves.
To help your reader process the information better, to have him/her follow your writing without ‘mentally running out of breath’, because the independent clauses are too cramped together, you might fix the paragraph using the ways you have just learned. It will flow better.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured, and it likes to sit on my computer keyboard. It does this whenever I am trying to work – it can be annoying, but also amusing. If it finds that the keyboard is unavailable, it moves towards the bookshelves; it might have been a scholar in one of its previous lives to love my books so much. The cat has become such a familiar sight in my study that it has become integral to its aesthetic: it is as much a part of the furnishing as the table, chair, computer, and bookshelves.
How do I find and fix them?
Considering the paragraph above, there are several different ways we can fix the effect the run-on sentences give to the writing.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured – it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
If you look at this sentence, it can be divided into two independent clauses (or two complete sentences).
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured.
It likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
The mistake that we call a ‘run-on sentence’ is made when there is insufficient separation between two independent clauses.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured and it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
As you can see, the two independent clauses are not distinct enough – they are cramped together. Fortunately, there are several ways to correctly merge these two independent clauses into one compound sentence. The first is by using appropriate punctuation. If you want to leave out conjunctions like ‘and’ to create a tighter connection between the two independent clauses, you may use appropriate punctuation. This means a semi-colon, a colon, or a dash.
A semi-colon gives more emphasis to the second clause.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured; it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
A colon expands on the first clause.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured: its weight rests heavily on my computer keyboard.
A dash emphasizes the second part for dramatic effect.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured – it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
A comma is too weak to hold two independent clauses together without some help. If you just use a comma to separate two independent clauses, you’ve created a comma splice (a type of run-on sentence), which has the effect of making your independent clauses sound too rushed and cramped:
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured, it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
Since a comma is too weak, it needs a conjunction to support it and separate the independent clauses more clearly. For example,
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured, and it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
Notice that other conjunctions (but, so, when) might not be suitable here. Specific conjunctions define a specific relationship between its two clauses. For example, if you were to link this example sentence by the conjunction ‘when’, you would create a completely different meaning.
My cat is plump and ginger-coloured, when it likes to sit on my computer keyboard.
This sentence is grammatically correct but meaningfully incorrect, unless your cat becomes fat and ginger every time it decides that it likes sitting on your keyboard. It is important to think of which conjunction to use in connecting the two independent clauses because you want to make it clear to your reader how the two relate to each other (temporal, casual, contrary, etc.).
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