This sucks

[Ishio]

No matter what I do or try to do, I always have this issue where I have run on sentences. It sucks. I've tried everything to try and change this, but I just can't seem to shake the bad habit. Does anyone have an suggestions on ways to improve this?

Where I see the issue occur, is when I'm writing papers for homework. I just got back my last paper and got marked off big time for run on's, and for not breaking a typography standard which is you can indent OR page break but not both. She said I have to do both for English writing assignments, though it's for Psychology, but I informed her my Typography teacher said that's not the norm for typography and grid designers.

[Japan]

get a real major or graduate high school. You won't ever have to worry about run-ons again.

[quellren]

Well, I'm not an english major, but I would suggest learning to recognize a run-on sentence in your writing. Then determine how to break it up.

1) Limit your sentences to 20 words. If you get there to 20 (maybe 21-22) and aren't done with what you need to say, then it needs to be two (or more) sentences.

2) Write whatever you want, then read it aloud. Actually out loud, not mouth the words silently. When need to pause to breathe, you need a new sentence, or at least some break via punctuation.

My HS english teacher used William Faulkner to illustrate how there comes a point when a sentence is SO long you forget the beginning before you get to the end.

[Ishio]

get a real major or graduate high school. You won't ever have to worry about run-ons again.

Web Design is a real major. I'm earning a Bachelors in Fine Arts. I did graduate high school, it was just a poor school.
Quellren, thank you for those tips. I've never had anyone break down that down like that. I usually do make sentences so long that I forget what I was talking about.

[Japan]

Web Design is a real major. I'm earning a Bachelors in Fine Arts.

lol contradictions

[quellren]

Don't listen to him. He's projecting because he has a GED.

[Fourthmeal]

Just insert a crap load of commas

[Japan]

but what if dude's Political Implications of Astrological Superstition in Southeast Rwanda professor doesn't like commas? There's no way he'll be able to get into grad school if he can't convince Professor (Mr.) Ruiz that his arbitrarily-assigned grade should be an A.

Never gonna get your BFA in web design with advice like this

[Vonkaar]

just remove punctuation and capitalization altogether and string everything together with whatever you find convenient like and or but and and with others like so and people wont mind at all besides written conversation is a dead art especially in communication over everquest forums and other mmo forums so I wouldnt stress too much over creating too many runon sentences its way more common than you probably imagine I see people do this way too often but Ive grown accustomed to it so much that I hardly even notice it so just keep on keeping on and dont mind the haters I dont even think that this will keep you down in a professional setting because Ive had far too many experiences with c level executives who did this and they got where they are without learning how to write good or speak best so you can do it too and dont even flinch when corrected or such like abraham lincoln once said the problem with quoting things on the internet is that its very hard to verify the accuracy of the quote so even someone as tall and smart as abraham lincoln can reach lofty potential and get great seats at public venues and plays despite having a literary handicap and I bet there are many everquest players who have no problem reading your thoughts through tough runon sentences its really no big deal peace out and good luck in your endeavors oh one more thing you can always extend your thoughts with ellipses and semi colons it makes a world of difference; I always think so.

[Fourthmeal]

but what if dude's Political Implications of Astrological Superstition in Southeast Rwanda professor doesn't like commas? There's no way he'll be able to get into grad school if he can't convince Professor (Mr.) Ruiz that his arbitrarily-assigned grade should be an A.

Never gonna get your BFA in web design with advice like this

A+ post hermano.

[Maurk]

There has been entire essays written in just one sentence.. Wish I had an example to show,
but when I was in college my english instructor showed the class an essay that was literally one sentence (maybe 2000 words, nothing huge).
Point is if you know correct punctuation, you wont ever need those fucking periods.

[fishingme]

Have you tried shaving?

[Fourthmeal]

The comma is your friend

[Sykem]

http://www.myenglishteacher.net/runonsentences.html

[Messianic]

Find one of your friends who's good at writing, and let them own your paper with a red pen. It'll help you a ton.

[Reynard_CT]

get Strunk's "little book" The Elements of Style

[rioisk]

Something I've learned - grammar is bullshit - nobody follows correct grammar anymore.

[Aasimon]

No matter what I do or try to do, I always have this issue where I have run on sentences. It sucks. I've tried everything to try and change this, but I just can't seem to shake the bad habit. Does anyone have an suggestions on ways to improve this?

Read your material aloud and insert punctuation where you pause (comma), or take a breath (period). If you insert a comma between two related things that could be a sentence if separated, use a semicolon.

[Kassel]

Read your paper sentence by sentence backwards.

[Hasbinbad]

No matter what I do or try to do, I always have this issue where I have run on sentences. It sucks. I've tried everything to try and change this, but I just can't seem to shake the bad habit. Does anyone have an suggestions on ways to improve this?

Where I see the issue occur, is when I'm writing papers for homework. I just got back my last paper and got marked off big time for run on's, and for not breaking a typography standard which is you can indent OR page break but not both. She said I have to do both for English writing assignments, though it's for Psychology, but I informed her my Typography teacher said that's not the norm for typography and grid designers.

It's simple dude. Sentences are symbolic of one complete thought. Use commas and conjunctions only when you have to, and don't rely on them for "pauses." A semi colon joins two separate and complete thoughts that are tied together; a conjunction is not used with a semi colon.

Formulate your main thoughts before you start writing. One or two key words, with a period at the end, thus:

dog walk. downtown. really hot. red dress. embarrassed. this is awesome, thx.

Then you can flesh that out:

I took my dog for a walk today. We went a lot of places, but ended up downtown for most of the time. It must have been over 100 degrees, because even my dog was sweating. Right before we headed back, this gorgeous woman in a red dress tripped and almost fell right in front of us. She seemed very embarrassed. This writing tutorial is freaking awesome, thanks Hasbinbad!

While all of those sentences are mostly grammatically correct, none of them are very interesting. But* they could all be fleshed out again if you really wanted to use this example as a demonstration of skill:

It was cold this morning, but I decided to take scrappy for a walk in spite of Mother Nature's apparent disdain for my comfort. We traveled for miles before ending up downtown; Scrappy needed to be absolutely sure that every heated bitch in the known world had his scent, "just in case." It was as hot as a two dollar whore on the fourth of July, and even Scraps was sweating bullets when we were ready to go home, when right out of the blue something long and red caught my peripheral. I knelt down to "tie my shoe" as she passed, mirage-like, only to snap sharply back to reality seconds later as she tripped over her own feet just in front of where I knelt. She looked around, saw that I saw, and blushed furiously as she quickly turned and walked away. This writing tutorial has taught me a whole lot about how to build sentences if I constantly have problems with run-ons, and I feel like I have more confidence to not only choose a subject for each sentence - and stick with it, but also to flesh out boring-seeming sentences while sticking to the the topic of that particular sentence; thanks Hasbinbad, I don't know what I would do without your benevolent guidance!

So before all you wanna be grammar police out there start picking apart what I just did, let me remind you that the point is to help someone curb their run-on use. These sentences may not follow every rule, but they do serve to illustrate a point.

*This is me trying out using a conjunction to start a sentence. U like my dope styles, amirite?