SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
(you can find exercises at the bottom of the page)

A sentence fragment is a sentence boundary error, and like comma splices and run-on sentences, the best way to find a fragment is to read your paragraph out loud, beginning at the capital letter of each sentence and making yourself stop at the period.

A sentence fragment is basically an incomplete sentence. Usually if you take it away from the sentences around it, it really doesn’t make sense.  For example, look at the following paragraph:

Registration has become much easier at McKendree during the past year.  Now, students and advisors can check the intranet to see if a class is full before trying to register. Each student is also given a specific time to register. Based on their class status and the first letter of their last name.  This means that students don’t start lining up to register at 5:00 in the morning the way they used to!   This all makes registration a lot more simple and less irritating.

 If you read the paragraph out loud, it probably sounds okay.  If you take out one of the sentences, however, you will see that it is not an independent clause—a sentence which can stand alone by itself:

           Based on their class status and the first letter of their last name.

Fragments frequently happen if sentences use subordinating conjunctions such as since, while, if, because, when, although, etc.

Because John had to be ready to practice at 4:00. He tried to do his homework in the morning.

Going to school and working full time can be very demanding. Although it forces students to manage their time more effectively.

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SENTENCE FRAGMENT EXERCISE

Try the following sentences and write in corrections if necessary (a few might be correct, so remember to read the sentence out loud if you are unsure!):

1.  The model UN will be on campus tomorrow, so no classes will be held in Upper Deneen.

2.  Many young people don’t bother to register to vote. Because they don’t really care about the candidates.

3.   Since she had high blood pressure, Carol’s doctor recommended that she try to start exercising.

4.  While it may take a little longer to finish a paper.  Professional writers recommend putting it aside for a few hours before doing final proofreading.

5.  John didn’t think he would like taking a college math class since he had always struggled in high school.

6.  Newsweek recently ran an article about the new trend in television shows such as  Real World, Big Brother, and  Survivor. That allow viewers to be voyeurs.

7.  Mission Impossible 2 was even better than the first film because the action sequences were so much more exciting.

8.  Students who write down their assignments in a calendar tend to manage time better. Unless they forget to check their calendars everyday.

GET THE ANSWERS TO THE FRAGMENT EXERCISE!

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