What is a run-on sentence and how do I fix it?
A run-on sentence is actually two independent sentences stuck together without the correct punctuation or linking words. Wrong: Why did the director cast her in that part she can’t act her way out of a paper bag. If you can take a knife and cut your sentence into two independent clauses, you have a run-on sentence. Notice how you can neatly divide the sentence above: Why did the director cast her in that part | she can’t act her way out of a paper bag. Let those two independent clauses be what they are: two separate sentences. Add the correct punctuation and capitalize the second sentence: Right: Why did the director cast her in that part? She can’t act her way out of a paper bag. If you want to keep a run-on sentence whole, you can add a comma and conjunction to make half of it into a dependent clause: Right: Why did the director cast her in the part, when she can’t act her way out of a paper bag? You can also put a semicolon between the two parts of a run-on sentence. That won’t work
