How did you get on with the exercise today?

Remember that with run-on sentences you're not giving your reader the right signals to readily understand you. Reading is always a matter of accumulating information – which might seem an obvious thing to point out. But this isn't just about facts and figures a person might learn from a document.

Plant the right clues

The actual process of reading is one of constantly picking up clues that lead you to understand and take in those facts and figures. Every word and every punctuation mark gives a clue about how to read what comes next. If you try to make a particular punctuation mark mean something it doesn't, you'll throw your reader off-course. And double-takes are not something you want to encourage!

Different ways to make it right

Which method you use to correct a run-on sentence is a choice you can make case by case. Think about how much the two clauses relate to each other: are their meanings closely linked? Can you make their connection clear with a well-chosen joining word? Or are they distinct enough to need a full stop between them?

Keep checking in with these questions and you'll be an expert in no time. You can also download and keep the handout below (which we use on our in-person courses) as a reminder of what we've covered today.

Any requests?

Is there something you're dying to see us do a lesson on? Have any of the lessons so far raised any questions for you? Let us know in the comments or by emailing us at [email protected].