As you can infer from the title, one of my biggest grammar mistakes is run-on.
I always make such mistakes because i used to write in oral english style and in oral english, nobody cares about run-on. However, one of my English tutor pointed that out and told me that was a serious problem. Then I did some research and i found that if we write two independent clauses in one sentence, we must add punctuation. We can use a semicolon or a full-stop to seperate them. We can also add a co-ordinating conjuction or trasition words. Anyway, we cannot put two independent clauses in one single sentence. For example, i used to say "I like the way she writes, she is such a creative genius!" I used to think this sentence is OK because i used to talk like that. But then i realize this is a run-on sentence and i should do some corrections. Like "I like the way she wirtes. She is such a creative genius!"
In addition, i found that the length of a sentence totally has nothing to do with whether it is a run-on sentence. As long as you write it correctly. So i used to avoid writing long sentences, but now i think i can handle long sentences better than before.
if you have the same problem, you can go to http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/exercises/run-ons_ex1.htm to do some exercises. For me, i found it useful!
Here is the exercise:
Questions
1.) My academic advisor told me not to take 18 credit hours for the fall semester I'm regretting not having listened to her.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
2.) My cat was upset all day he didn't get canned food for breakfast.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
3.) Organizations that promise students a scholarship if they pay an extraordinarily high application fee are most likely scams.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
4.) Because Rose was late for the all-you-can-eat buffet, she had to order from the main menu.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
5.) The student fell asleep in class everyone thought this was rude behavior.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
6.) Although an immigration lawyer might help me to stay in this country, his fees are too expensive for me to afford.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
7.) I like the history class because the material is explained so well.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
8.) We followed the map we ended up in Canada instead.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
9.) Although the trip to Montreal was not very well planned, we had a great time.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
10.) I received an A on my Psychology test I am happy.
a.) Run-on
b.) Complete sentence
My ans:
aabbabbaba
