How to Correct Comma Splicing

Comma splicing is a problem that many writers, both technical and creative, can easily find themselves in without proper guidance. It is writing two independent clauses in a sentence, and then joining them with a comma.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer or pen/paper
• sharp eye for errors
• grammar knowledge

1. For these examples we will use the sentence, "He offered her the cigarette, she pushed it away."

2. Change the punctuation mark. Many consider that the two punctuation marks powerful enough to separate these clauses is a semicolon or a hyphen. Thereby your writing will change to: "He offered her the cigarette -- she pushed it away." or "He offered her the cigarette; she pushed it away."

3. Take the two clauses and separate them by writing a period. "He offered her the cigarette. She pushed it away."

4. Write a coordinating conjunction between the two clauses. The seven conjunctions in this category are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. With this sentence we can write it as, "He offered her the cigarette, but she pushed it away."

Tips & Warnings

• These are the more effective methods I've found, but they are not the only ones.
• Comma splices in poetry tend to be seen as fair game. When used in fiction they can seem presumptuous, but in the hands of a master they can come through as brilliant and poetic.
• Without proper grammatical knowledge this type of mistake can go without notice. With six years of writing experience I still make this error, and sometimes overlook it while editing. Train yourself to see this problem.

[michellen]

on 5/16/2009 Great tips that most people have probably forgotten from middle school grammar. Thanks for the reminder!