Tactical Purpose
An author might use a run-on sentence to write down whatever comes to mind at any given time to reveal ideas that may otherwise be kept private. It is uncommon to see this type of writing, but it can be found in certain forms of journalism. An effect or impact resulting from a run-on sentence is that it creates a lengthy statement that is challenging to understand and confounds the reader. It might confuse the reader because there is incorrect grammar being used, and the author has not fully finished their thought which could be a result of run-on sentences. Although it is not a great thing to employ run-on sentences in writing, authors occasionally do so to emphasize a point or to mimic their thought process.
Steps for Analysis
Identify the run-on sentence by looking for a spot in the section where you could, without removing, adding, or changing any words, split it into two distinct ideas.
Consider why the author chose to write the sentence in this form.
Is the text lacking punctuation?
What type of punctuation is being used?
What is the conjunction being used?
Is there a meaning behind the conjunction they chose?
Example from 'Sun City, South Carolina Speech' (2015) By: Donald Trump
“Look, having nuclear…they just killed us.”
"Help Us Diagram This Sentence by Donald Trump!" Slate, 31 July 2015, www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2015/07/31/donald_trump_this_run_on_sentence_from_a_speech_in_sun_city_south_carolina.html. Accessed 7 Sept. 2022.
Analysis of Passage
The size and punctuation of the sentence displayed in the bold text tell the reader that it is a run-on sentence. Instead of using periods to break up the author’s sentences, he replaces them with punctuation or conjunctions that indicate he is continuing his thought. He wrote this speech most likely in the moment or on the top of his head, which can be demonstrated by the change in topics throughout the text. The result of this sentence structure choice chosen by the author is that he began to ramble about different topics, which all stemmed from his original subject. His thoughts were not clear and left the audience in confusion after.
This speech that Donald Trump says is all over the place. He goes from one idea to the next without finishing his thought process, and this can be seen in other examples of run-on sentences. In addition, the text extends for over 20 lines with all sorts of punctuation (commas, semicolons, dashes, and colons) within the lines. However, at the end of his speech, he concludes with a period. In the author’s speech, they used different types of conjunctions, but mostly “and” and “but.” Each kind of conjunction means a different thing. When he uses “and,” he is trying to connect two related sentences. Then, when he uses “but,” he is trying to highlight a discrepancy, an exception, or a criticism.