Editing Tips: The Comma Splice

Today we'll have a quick look at the comma splice.

A comma splice occurs when you connect two separate main clauses with a comma. Here is an example.

Nicki sat down to read a new book, she had already finished the other one.

Luckily, there are several ways you can fix this:

1) Add a full stop
Nicki sat down to read a new book. She had already finished the other one.

2) Add a conjunction
Nicki sat down to read a new book since she had already finished the other one.

3) Use a semi-colon
Nicki sat down to read a new book; she had already finished the other one.