Download Punctuations guide

Sentence fragments are strings of words that have been punctuated as a sentence but are not
valid sentences; that is, they don't contain all the elements necessary to create a sentence.
Sentence fragments are usually incomplete ideas; for example,
Although the composition of the student body has changed dramatically.
This sentence does not convey a complete idea. If these words were spoken to you, you
would wait for the person to tell you the other half of the idea:
Although the composition of the student body has
changed dramatically .... what?
Compare this to the following sentence:
Although the composition of the student body has
changed dramatically, little variation in instructional
techniqueshas been apparent in Australian universities
until recently.
Notice how this revised sentence presents a whole idea, made up of two halves. These
example sentences below also consist of two halves put together to make a whole:
Because the young male population was engaged in the war, women were recruited into
the domestic labour force.
Solids turn into liquids when they are heated.
Notice that one of the halves or clauses of the sentences above begin with words like
'although', 'because', or 'when'. This half is putting a condition on, or adding information to,
the other half. It is a dependent clause: it can't stand on its own, but depends on another half
to complete its meaning. Dependent clauses by themselves are sentence fragments; therefore,
you must make sure that you join dependent clauses to independent clauses.
A run-on sentence is a sentence which includes more than one complete idea: it is actually a
series of sentences run together that are joined by commas instead of full stops. An example
of a run-on sentence is:
After water is released from the dam it is important that it is able to move easily downstream.
In order to improve this movement, channel improvements must sometimes be made, this can
involve straightening bends and removing brush debris or hazards from the channel.
The highlighted section of this sentence is actually a complete idea in itself. It should stand as
a sentence on its own rather than being connected by a comma to the preceding clause. The
sentence could be repunctuated more correctly in 2 ways: by adding a full stop to make the
run on sentence a complete sentence by itself or by adding a colon to introduce the channel
improvements.
After water is released from the dam it is important that it is able to move easily downstream.
In order to improve this movement, channel improvements must sometimes be made. This
can involve straightening bends and removing brush debris or hazards from the channel.
After water is released from the dam it is important that it is able to move easily downstream.
In order to improve this movement, channel improvements must sometimes be made: this can
involve straightening bends and removing brush debris or hazards from the channel.
Run-on sentences could also be repaired by making part of the preceding sentence a relative
clause through the introduction of a relative pronoun such as which and making the run-on
sentence part of the main clause:
Run-On Sentence with preceding
main clause
Corrected Sentence (with relative
clause and main clause)
Passive euthanasia is withdrawing
or withholding life-sustaining
treatment from a terminally ill and
suffering patient, it seems more
easily justified than killing such a
patient.
Passive euthanasia, which is
withdrawing or withholding lifesustaining treatment from a
terminally ill and suffering patient,
seems more easily justified than
killing such a patient.
For more information on creating relative clauses, click here
Here is another example of a run-on sentence:
The manager should try to be more aware of group norms , he or she should also try and find
out which aspects of the organisational culture are counter-productive for group efficiency.
This run-on sentence is a complete idea that can stand alone as a sentence in its own right,
just as the preceding sentence can. The run-on sentence can thus be repaired by repunctuating
it as a separate sentence:
The manager should try to be more aware of group norms. He or she should also try and find
out which aspects of the organisational culture are counter-productive for group efficiency.
To summarise: Run-on sentences occur when complete stand alone
ideas have not been properly punctuated as sentences. They can be
repaired by either:
repunctuating and making two separate sentences
creating a relative clause.
Punctuation errors in the use of colons and semi-colons are often the result of confusion
about when to use these punctuation marks.
Common student errors include using a semi-colon instead of a colon to introduce lists,
failing to use a semi-colon preceding words like however, mistakenly using semi-colons to
introduce sentence fragments and misplacing colons when using them to introduce lists.
Colons, NOT semi-colons, are used to introduce lists; for example:
Baddeley's theory divided working memory into three major parts: the central executive, the
articulatory or phonological loop and the visual spatial sketch pad.
When under pressure, humans may exhibit the following behaviours: anger, anxiety,
sleeplessness, aggression, and poor concentration.
Semicolons, NOT colons, are used before connective words such as 'therefore', 'however',
and 'additionally'; for example:
First and second languages are not learned in the same way; therefore, we should not aim to
simulate first language learning in the second language classroom.
In March 1810 Macquarie put in a request to the colonial office to set up a bank; however,
the bank of New South Wales did not open for business until April 1817.
Colons, NOT semi-colons, can introduce sentence fragments within a sentence.
We are faced with another issue to address: unequal access to information.
There are two options which would alleviate the detrimental effects associated with the split
attention effect: reducing the extraneous load on working memory or increasing its
processing capacity.
Colons should be placed after the object of the sentence NOT after the verb of the sentence
when introducing lists.
When a colon is used to introduce a list it should NOT be placed immediately following a
verb because the information following the colon must explain what was presented before the
colon.
INCORRECT: These include: physical integration, elimination of redundancy and the use of
multimedia instruction.
The list of words after the colon does not further explain the verb
'include'.
CORRECT: These include the instructional design principles: physical integration,
elimination of redundancy and the use of multimedia instruction.
The list of words after the colon DOES further explain the phrase
'instructional design principles'.
For more detailed information about using colons and semi-colons in academic writing, click
here.