Thursday Worksheet # 1
A Proofreader's Warmup Exercise for Comma Splices and Fused Sentences: Find them and fix them!

A COMMA SPLICE (CS) error is where a writer uses a comma to join two sentences instead of a period or a semicolon or a conjunction (e.g., "and, but, or,").

For example, the following sentence has a comma splice error in it.

I ran the marathon, I stumbled at the end.

A comma cannot, by itself, connect two sentences or main clauses.

Instead of a comma, the writer should have used a period or a semicolon or added a conjunction like "and, but," etc.

It could be corrected to read as follows:

I ran the marathon. I stumbled at the end.

Or

I ran the marathon; I stumbled at the end.

Or

I ran the marathon, and I stumbled at the end.

A semicolon joins two main clauses that could act as complete sentences on their own (i.e., a complete sentence has to have a subject and a verb). You do not use a semicolon if the clause after the semicolon is a sentence fragment e.g., "stumbled at the end" rather than "I stumbled at the end." The semicolon indicates that the clauses are linked logically; at the same time, it creates a brief reading pause between them. The word following the semicolon is usually decapitalized unless it is a proper noun such as someone's name or the word "I," etc.

A FUSED SENTENCE (FS) is an error where there is no punctuation between two sentences.

For example, the following sentence is a fused sentence.

I ran the marathon I stumbled at the end.

It could be corrected with a period or a semicolon or a conjunction to read as follows:

I ran the marathon. I stumbled at the end.

Or

I ran the marathon; I stumbled at the end.

Or

I ran the marathon, and I stumbled at the end.

If you use a conjunction (like "and, but, or") to join two independent clauses that could stand alone as complete sentences you always put a comma before the conjunction as in the above example. If the two clauses are not independent (they cannot stand alone as complete sentences) you use the conjunction but you do not put a comma before it. There will be more on this later.

For ten (10) points find, circle, and label in red pencil or red pen the Comma Splice (CS) and Fused Sentence (FS) errors in the following passage. In other words, first circle the problem area, write CS or FS above it, and then correct the error using a period and capitalization of the first word in the following sentence, a semicolon and decapitalization of the following word where appropriate, or a comma and conjunction. (A colon can also be used to join two sentences in some circumstances, but, for now, correct the sentences using either periods, semicolons, or conjunctions.)

In the persuasive essay, you must defend your side of an argument You are no longer merely showing, you are convincing. The persuasive essay must choose a side, make a case for it, consider and refute alternative arguments, and prove to the undecided reader that the opinion it presents is the best one, You must be aware of other sides and be fair to them dismissing them completely will weaken your own argument, It is always best to take a side that you believe in, preferably with the most supporting evidence It can often be educational to adopt a different position from what you might normally choose (debating requires this kind of flexibility).

Evidence consists of specific examples or opinions of others which support and illustrate your thesis try to give several examples rather than just one, you want to make sure that there is sufficient evidence for you to make a strong point the evidence must also be relevant, reliable, and representative. Evidence comes from either primary or secondary sources, the primary source is the text on which you are commenting, or documents that deal directly with your topic. Secondary sources are opinions or interpretation of others on the topic (your essay itself becomes a secondary source, should anyone wish to quote it).

All essays that involve the development of an argument require a thesis: the main point you are arguing While the topic is your subject, the thesis defines your position on that subject, Your essay will take a position and will provide convincing evidence to support that view it is important to develop a working thesis early because it will help direct your thoughts and research.