5 Ways to Fix the Comma Splice

5 Ways to Fix the Comma Splice 5 Ways to Fix the Comma Splice 5 Ways to Fix the Comma Splice By Mark Nichol A comma splice is simply a sentence in which a comma is called on to do more than is appropriate for the workaday but weak punctuation mark. When a sentence contains two independent clauses each of which could essentially stand on its own separated by a comma (or by nothing at all, in which case it’s called a fused sentence), employ one of these five strategies to fix the splice and create a correct connection: 1. â€Å"Of course not all companies will survive, it is our goal to give the investing public accurate information on all companies profiled.† Divide the sentence into two (and set â€Å"Of course† off with a comma as well): â€Å"Of course, not all companies will survive. It is our goal to give the investing public accurate information on all companies profiled.† 2. â€Å"Some buildings hearken back to Main Street, USA, others offer strip-mall modernism.† Insert a subordinating conjunction to convert either clause into a subordinate clause (one that depends on the other to be the main clause): â€Å"Some buildings hearken back to Main Street, USA, while others offer strip mall modernism.† (While could, alternatively, begin the sentence.) 3. â€Å"Several people have told me they want to buy a house before they are laid off, otherwise they won’t be able to get a loan.† Replace the comma with a semicolon (and, in this case, set otherwise off from the rest of the second clause: â€Å"Several people have told me they want to buy a house before they are laid off; otherwise, they won’t be able to get a loan.† 4. â€Å"At times, it resembled the pitch of a whirring blender, at other moments, an angelic choir.† Separate the clauses with a coordinating conjunction: â€Å"At times, it resembled the pitch of a whirring blender, and at other moments, an angelic choir.† (The final comma and the elided phrase â€Å"an angelic choir† are correct; repetition of â€Å"it resembled† is implied.) 5. â€Å"Other cops have an alternative solution, they simply arrive on the scene long after the criminals have fled in order to avoid any confrontation.† Employ a colon in place of the comma when what follows is a definition or explanation stemming from the first clause: â€Å"Other cops have an alternative solution: They simply arrive on the scene long after the criminals have fled in order to avoid any confrontation.† Better yet, to create a stronger impact with the sentence, move the final modifying phrase forward as a parenthetical: â€Å"Other cops have an alternative solution: In order to avoid any confrontation, they simply arrive on the scene long after the criminals have fled.† More than one of these strategies is usually an option; each of the sentences above can be repaired with at least two of the methods described. Often, however, depending on the sentence content and structure, one solution will stand out as the best. (An em dash can also be used to set one independent clause off from the other.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Flier vs. FlyerPreposition Mistakes #3: Two Idioms

5 Ways to Shake It Up Without Changing Careers

5 Ways to Shake It Up Without Changing Careers Feeling stifled? Desperate for a major change? Want to chase your dream to another continent, or to another career altogether? Feel any or all of those desires, but realize with a pang that you simply can’t just up and totally change your career? There are still ways you can get back in a groove and get excited about your job again without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.Try these five strategies first before decided on changing careers.1.  Start from withinIf things are really stale, you always have two options that aren’t the nuclear one. First, you can change your role within your own industry. Or, you can keep your job but change to another field. Try switching from corporate law to entertainment law. Or from serving and bartending to managing. Or from at-home nursing to ER nursing. These feel like big changes, but they don’t involve scrapping your entire career!2. Try your hand at consultingThis word covers quite a bit of ground. The nutshell of t his strategy is to figure out what you know because of your career so far and figure out who needs that knowledge and skill. Could you teach? Develop textbooks or manuals or training guides? Recruit? This keeps you squarely in your wheelhouse, where you’ve been successful, but doesn’t require you to learn a whole new set of skills.3.  Think about how your role could changeThere’s always the option of sticking with your current company, but changing jobs within it. Have a think about your colleagues- is there anything they do that you think would be more fulfilling to you? Ask questions. Chat with your boss about shifting your responsibilities and taking on new challenges. Figure out what you need to brush up on and prove- if only to yourself- that you can learn new things.4. Find joy in extracurricularsSo maybe you can’t change even your job in a significant way, for whatever reason. You can still do more, and different, things! Try volunteering, or tak e a guest bartending gig, or start a blog, or join forces with friends or colleagues to work for a foundation. Doing a bit of good in the world, or a bit of freelance work, can give you the breath of fresh air you need to put your work in better perspective.5. Keep honoring that little voiceMaybe you’ll follow these strategies and still can’t deny that overwhelming desire to chuck it all and do something totally different with your life. If that voice just won’t go away, no matter what else you do or how you tweak the margins, that might be the sign you need. Check in with yourself from time to time and see how you feel. You’ll know when it’s time to light the match.Five Easier Alternatives to Totally Changing Careers