Breaking up run-on sentences

Why?
To make your writing more understandable and easier to read, we use a variety of sentence
lengths! If we have too many short sentences, it sounds unnatural. If we have too many long
sentences, it can sound confusing.

Tip #1​: Isolate individual clauses within your sentence. If you have more than 2 or 3 clauses,
you probably need to break it up.

Tip #2:​ Decide which ones match the best together.

1. I went to the corner shop​ because ​we needed some milk.​ ​(What we did and why)
2. When I got there the shop was closed,​ so​ I had to go to one much farther away​.
(What happened and the reaction to that action)
 Complex sentences with conjunctions
Why?
We cannot connect two complete clauses with just a comma. To join two clauses, we might use
a conjunction.

Coordinating:​ FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

When we use these between two complete clauses, we usually use a comma before the
conjunction.

If there is
only one complete clause, then we don’t need a comma before the conjunction.

Subordinating:​ A dependent clause that requires an independent clause to give it meaning.

We don’t know what they’re talking about, so we need another clause--a main clause-- to give it
meaning.

With these, we don’t often use commas when they’re in the middle of the sentence. If they’re
at the beginning of the sentence, we usually use a comma after the first clause.