Thursday, November 28, 2019

Coma Splice Repeat Offender


As editing continues, and all writers here as well professors of English, this is common.  We want the elements of English to flow and express what we want our manuscripts to say. 



Comma splices are similar to run-on sentences, which join two independent clauses without any punctuation and without a conjunction such as andbut for, etc. Sometimes the two types of sentences are treated differently based on the presence or absence of a comma, but most writers consider the comma splice as a special type of run-on sentence.[4] According to Garner's Modern English Usage:
[M]ost usage authorities accept comma splices when (1) the clauses are short and closely related, (2) there is no danger of a miscue, and (3) the context is informal [...] But even when all three criteria are met, some readers are likely to object.[4]
Comma splices often arise when writers use conjunctive adverbs (such as furthermorehowever, or moreover) to separate two independent clauses instead of using a coordinating conjunction.[6]

In literature

Comma splices are also occasionally used in fiction, poetry, and other forms of literature to convey a particular mood or informal style. Some authors use commas to separate short clauses only.[1] The comma splice is more commonly found in works from the 18th and 19th century, when written prose mimicked speech more closely.[7]
Fowler's Modern English Usage describes the use of the comma splice by the authors Elizabeth Jolley and Iris Murdoch:
We are all accustomed to the … conjoined sentences that turn up from children or from our less literate friends… Curiously, this habit of writing comma-joined sentences is not uncommon in both older and present-day fiction. Modern examples: I have the bed still, it is in every way suitable for the old house where I live now (E. Jolley); Marcus … was of course already quite a famous man, Ludens had even heard of him from friends at Cambridge (I. Murdoch).[8]
Journalist Oliver Kamm writes of novelist Jane Austen's use of the comma splice, "Tastes in punctuation are not constant. It makes no sense to accuse Jane Austen of incorrect use of the comma, as no one would have levelled this charge against her at the time. Her conventions of usage were not ours".[7]
The author and journalist Lynne Truss writes in Eats, Shoots & Leaves that "so many highly respected writers observe the splice comma that a rather unfair rule emerges on this one: only do it if you're famous".[9] Citing Samuel BeckettE. M. Forster, and Somerset Maugham, she says: "Done knowingly by an established writer, the comma splice is effective, poetic, dashing. Done equally knowingly by people who are not published writers, it can look weak or presumptuous. Done ignorantly by ignorant people, it is awful".[9]



Add some examples of Coma Splices, then correct them.    


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