Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021
Exception: A fragment may be used for effect
Repair sentence fragments
Grammar
Writers occasionally use sentence fragments for special purposes.
FOR EMPHASIS |
Following the dramatic Americanization of their children, even my parents grew more publicly confident. Especially my mother. — Richard Rodriguez |
TO ANSWER A QUESTION |
Are these new drug tests 100 percent reliable? Not in the opinion of most experts. |
TRANSITIONS |
And now the opposing arguments. |
EXCLAMATIONS |
Not again! |
IN ADVERTISING |
Fewer carbs. Improved taste. |
Although fragments are sometimes appropriate, writers and readers do not always agree on when they are appropriate. Writing in complete sentences is always a sensible choice.
EXERCISE 19-1
Repair any fragment by attaching it to a nearby sentence or by rewriting it as a complete sentence. If a word group is correct, write “correct” after it. Possible revisions appear in the back of the book.
a. Listening to the playlist her sister had created, Blanca was overcome with a mix of emotions. Happiness, homesickness, and nostalgia.
b. Cortés and his soldiers were astonished when they looked down from the mountains and saw Tenochtitlán. The magnificent capital of the Aztecs.
c. Although my spoken Spanish is not very good. I can read the language with ease.
d. There are several reasons for not eating meat. One reason being that dangerous chemicals are used throughout the various stages of meat production.
e. To learn how to sculpt beauty from everyday life. This is my intention in studying art and archaeology.
EXERCISE 19-2
Repair each fragment in the following passage by attaching it to a nearby sentence or by rewriting it as a complete sentence.
Digital technology has revolutionized information delivery. Forever blurring the lines between information and entertainment. Yesterday’s readers of books and newspapers are today’s readers of e-books and news sites. Countless readers have moved on from print information entirely. Choosing instead to scroll their way through a text online or on an e-reader. Once a nation of people spoon-fed television commercials and the six o’clock evening news. We are now seemingly addicted to YouTube and social media. On family road trips, Dad or Mom used to wrestle with a road map. On the way to St. Louis or Seattle. No wrestling is required when every smartphone comes with a GPS navigator. Unless it’s Mom and Dad wrestling over who can enter the address into their phone first. Accessing information now seems to be America’s favorite pastime. In 2019, the Pew Research Center reported that 81 percent of Americans went online daily. With that number likely increasing in 2020 and 2021 when the pandemic forced so many of us to live virtually. As a country, we embrace information and communication technologies. Which now include smartphones, videoconferences, tablets, and AI assistants. Children rely on devices and the Internet from an early age. For everything from attending classes and doing homework to socializing and gaming.