A good writer can avoid run-on sentences with a little insight and some light editing. Run-on sentences will no longer be a problem when the procedure for correcting and improving sentence structure becomes part of the regular writing process,

How to Identify a Run-on Sentence

Read carefully what you have written to find long run-on sentences that can easily be edited down into several shorter ones. The best way to do this is to look for sentences containing several phrases that are linked together with "because", "which", "also", and any frequently used colloquial terms.

When there are more than three or four commas within one sentence, that is often another indication that the sentence is running on.

Sometimes it is necessary to use some extended sentences, to make your writing flow, but when writing web content it is important to ensure your sentences do not continue over too many lines of text.

Here is an example of a run-on sentence:

"Run-on sentences can be difficult to follow and should be avoided when writing for the Internet because an online article has to be clear, crisp and concise and the purpose of writing articles for the Internet should be to inform, instruct and entertain the reader, also in an article where sentences run on the paragraphs become too long and will appear online as solid blocks of text, which makes it even more difficult to read."

Here is a revised and edited version of the same paragraph:

"The purpose of writing articles for the Internet is to inform, instruct or entertain the reader. Run-on sentences can be difficult to follow, and should be avoided.

When writing for the Internet, an article has to be made clear, crisp and concise. When sentences run on, paragraphs may also become too long, and the article will appear online as solid blocks of text. This will make it difficult to read on a screen."

How to Eliminate Run-on Sentences

Run-on sentences can be correctly simply by removing any unnecessary words between phrases and replacing these with a period. If one long sentence contains both the words "and" and "but", you may remove one or both of these words to cut it down into two, or even three sentences.

As a writer, the desire to communicate should come first. Then you find your own personal writing voice, and learn to use language creatively to express meaning. You should continue to write in whatever way that comes naturally to you in your first draft, but never forget to revise and edit your own work.

Understand that no writer ever produces perfect, well constructed prose in an initial draft. A first draft can be written quickly, without much consideration to grammar, punctuation and sentence structure.

The final draft is the one that matters. An article should be submitted and published only after it has been revised and reworked. That is how the common writing mistake of run-on sentences can be avoided.

Learn more about this author, Ruth Belena.
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