Example

EXAMPLE

June 1999: When Minds Agree to Disagree.*

That’s Not Just Ineffective, It’s Downright Inefficient!**

SENTENCE FRAGMENT: part of a sentence, usually a phrase or dependent clause, carelessly or ineffectively punctuated as a complete sentence.

*"When Minds Agree to Disagree." is a sentence fragment. Is it effective?

COMMA FAULT: two or more statements (independent clauses) are punctuated as a single sentence with a comma between them

**"That’s Not Just Ineffective, It’s Downright Inefficient!" contains a comma fault. Is it more or less efficient than "That’s Not Just Ineffective; it’s downright inefficient!"?

Review the following examples from Political Women, www.politicalwomen.com. Notice that while there are many ways to say the same thing, each revision gets progressively more direct and more pointed than the original statement. Authors and editors can agree to disagree about whether a given fragment or comma fault is effective. Much depends on context and frequency.

Author’s Original Statement	Editor’s Suggested Revisions
Consider this, it’s a known fact criminals don’t register guns.	Consider this: it’s a known fact that criminals don’t register guns. Consider that it’s a known fact that criminals don’t register guns. Consider: criminals don’t register guns.
There is an agenda being pushed by the ultra-leftists, its called ‘Stealth Socialism.’	There is an agenda being pushed by the ultra-leftists; it’s called "Stealth Socialism." The ultra-leftists push their plan of "Stealth Socialism." "Stealth Socialism" is the potion; ultra-leftists are the pushers.
Which brings us full circle to the so-called New World Order everyone is whispering about again.	Now we come full circle to the so-called New World Order everyone is whispering about again. We’ve come full circle to the whisper on everyone’s lips: "New World Order." Listen to the whispering lips: "New World Order."

We invite readers to send effective examples of fragments and comma faults to editor@persuasivepen.com.