Intern’s Corner: Grammar Refresher and Essentials Tutorial: Sentence Fragments

Did you know sentences fragments are one of the 20 most common errors students make when writing? You might then ask yourself, what exactly is a sentence fragment and how can I avoid making this error? According to the OWL, a sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that you have punctuated as if it is a complete sentence. But don’t fret, the OWL has you covered. It offers Grammar Refresher and Grammar Essentials tutorials targeting sentence fragments so you can be better prepared the next time you need to generate a writing assignment.

Grammar Refresher: Sentence Fragments

Let’s dive right into the Grammar Refresher: Sentence Fragments tutorial the OWL offers. As always, the OWL has provided ways to test your knowledge and see where there is room for improvement. You will also get in-depth information as to what a sentence fragment looks like and why it is essential to avoid them.

A helpful example the OWL provides is the following:

This helps you understand that sentence fragments are sentences with missing information. Check out one of the answers that the OWL provides. Did you think of this solution? Check out the rest of the tutorial to find out if you corrected the sentences correctly.

Grammar Essentials: Sentence Fragment

The next tutorial to go to for further help with sentence fragments is under the 20 Most Common Grammar Errors: Sentence Fragment. Here you will be provided with additional guidance regarding what to look out for when addressing a sentence fragment as well as a few examples.

Tips from the Professor

The OWL provides another helpful resource on sentence fragments in a tutorial called Tips from the Professor, which can be found in the 20 Most Common Grammar Errors section. This tutorial is helpful because it provides frequently asked questions and answers from a professor in video form.

The Other 19 Most Common Grammar Errors

If you are interested in learning more about the other 19 most common grammar errors, check out the Grammar Essentials: 20 Most Common Grammar Errors and then click on the Try It Out and Putting it All Together.

(Screenshot of Try it Out tutorial to provide corrections to)

(Screenshot of a Prezi presentation called Putting it All Together to take the most common errors and understand them a little bit further) 

Final Thoughts

The OWL has provided another excellent opportunity to learn about the most common grammar errors in one area. Whether or not you have a problem with sentence fragments, you can still find helpful information throughout the tutorials provided.

Ginger Hamblin is an intern for the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab. She has been a student of Excelsior University for almost two years and is pursuing her Bachelor of Science – Liberal Arts in Professional and Technical Writing. She is a writing enthusiast, painter, wife, and mother of three boys.