Campus Writing Center
Southern Connecticut State University
Tips for writers: sentence fragments
A fragment is a group of words that is not a complete sentence but which is punctuated as if it
were a sentence. Although fragments do appear in certain kinds of writing, they are best avoided
in papers written for academic purposes.
How can you tell if your writing contains fragments?
Remember the three essentials of a complete sentence: a subject, a verb, and a complete,
independent thought. If any element is missing, the “sentence” is really only a fragment.
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We concluded the meeting at 10:30. Then went home. (no subject = fragment)
We concluded the meeting at 10:30. The end of a long day. (no verb = fragment)
Some types of phrases may be mistakenly punctuated as sentences.
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We concluded the meeting at 10:30. With half of our agenda unfinished.
(prepositional phrase = fragment)
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We concluded the meeting at 10:30. Having little to show for our efforts.
(verbal phrase = fragment)
Additionally, dependent clauses should not be punctuated as independent sentences.
In the examples below, the dependent clauses are created by the subordinating
conjunctions because and which. As punctuated here, they are fragments.
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We concluded the meeting at 10:30. Because we decided that nothing really was
being accomplished.
We concluded the meeting at 10:30. Which was too late for some members.
Fragments can be corrected in a number of ways.
1. Some fragments may be eliminated by adding a subject or a complete verb form.
 We concluded the meeting at 10:30. Then we went home.
 We concluded the meeting at 10:30. It was the end of a long day.
2. Some fragments may be corrected by restructuring or combining phrases and clauses.
 With half of our agenda unfinished, we concluded the meeting at 10:30.
 Having little to show for our efforts, we concluded the meeting at 10:30.
3. Dependent clause fragments can usually be attached to an independent clause.
 We concluded the meeting at 10:30 because we decided that nothing really was being
accomplished.
 We concluded the meeting at 10:30, which was too late for some members.
TJF 2009