Purdue North Central Writing Center Handout

Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

Using only a comma to join two sentences or independent clauses is called a comma splice.

          (WRONG)  Comma splice:

            The Writing Center was a success, all of the students improved their composition             skills.

Joining two or more sentences or independent clauses without punctuation between them results in a fused sentence.

            (WRONG) Fused Sentence:

            The Writing Center was a success all of the students improved their composition             skills.   

Both parts of the example are complete thoughts, containing a subject and a verb.  This makes them complete sentences or independent clauses, depending upon how they are corrected.  These errors can be corrected in several ways:

            (RIGHT) Make two complete sentences:

            The Writing Center was a success.  All of the students improved their composition             skills.

or

            (RIGHT) Join with a semicolon:

            The Writing Center was a success;  all of the students improved their composition             skills.   

or

            (RIGHT) Join with a comma and a coordinating conjunction*:

            The Writing Center was a success, for all of the students improved their             composition  skills.

            (*and, but, or , nor, so, yet, for, and sometimes while)

Caution:  Do not trade one mistake for another!  It is easy to turn a fused sentence into a comma splice, so check your work carefully.  For more information, see the handout “Compounding Sentences.”  There are also several exercises that can help you work on this problem.