How to Avoid Fragmentation in Sentence Formation: A Message Worth Conveying

“Poof. The mystical dragon. Gone forever.” This is an example of fragmentation in sentence structure. What is wrong with it? “With one poof, the mystical dragon was gone forever,” reads much easier.

The article, “Writer’s Web: Sentence structure and mechanics” suggests that fragmentation in sentence structure means speaking or writing with “incomplete sentence structure”. Identifying fragmentation in sentence formation and correcting it, entails responding to these questions in the affirmative.       

“Does it have a verb? Does it have a subject? Can the phrase make sense standing alone? Is it a dependent clause or phrase?”

In a world of e-mail, smart phones and increasing web content, sentence fragmentation can be problematic for readers. At the same time, one cannot ignore the reality that today, time is of the essence and abbreviated messages may have advantages. They may be less costly to transmit messages as text messaging, but there can also be problems associated with them, if the sentences are fragmented or misunderstood.

The question of how to avoid fragmentation in sentence formation involves a number of possible options.

Consider the following.

How you speak is how you write.

Making a serious effort to speak in complete sentences is only the starting point. This leads to writing sentences with correct grammatical structure. When you speak in complete sentences, you set an example for others.

Grammar is important.

The choice of one’s words, phrases and expressions conveys a message in itself. This is important in terms of freelance writing and internet content. Academics have a distinct advantage because of an extended vocabulary, in conjunction with a higher level of professional proficiency. Remember that academics start their education with basic principles of grammar, just like everyone else.

Serious freelance writers can improve the grammatical structure of their writing, but for them to succeed in terms of Internet publication may require further education or training, plus time and effort, on their part. It takes practice, as well.

Correcting fragmentation in writing is something all freelance writers need to work on. This article suggests that correction of grammatical structure is relatively easy, namely by using commas, as well as connecting fragmented clauses to the rest of a sentence.

The example cited here, "In class today we talked about Byron's poem and its main characters, as well as Byron's own life and how it related to his works,” shows how this is carried out. The first half of this sentence can stand alone, but not the last half.

The second suggestion is that “If the sentence becomes too long or wordy, add the necessary subject-verb to the clause, creating a second sentence.”

Avoid the use of run-on sentences. Run-on sentences become unwieldy and lead to confusion for the reader. Breaking them up into additional sentences makes the content easier to read and follow in terms of its context.

Note that sentences always need a subject and a verb. For example, “Rick walked.” Even as a short sentence, it stands alone.

The correct use of colons and semicolons is important and beneficial in terms of preventing sentence fragmentation. For example, “Truth stands; time runs.”  

Defragmentation of sentence structure as opposed to fragmentation of sentence structure in speaking or writing is always a viable option. Remember that one sliver of communication may make a piercing point; too many take away the effectiveness of the message. In the end, the use of a grammatically correct, non-fragmented message may save time and money.

A message worth conveying in any manner is worth conveying well.