What is a fragment?

To find out, we first have to begin with complete sentences.

Complete sentences have:

A subject (the noun performing the verb). 

              He sings.

A verb (the verb tied to the noun).

              He sings.

And a complete thought (the sentence makes sense).

Fragments Are...

Missing a subject:

            Went to the Superbowl.

Missing a verb:

            The speaker at the podium.

Not a complete thought:

             Which can be tricky.

Most fragments written by college-level students are a result of an independent clause (a sentence) and a dependent clause (a half sentence) that are not put together.  For more on types of clauses, check out Independent and Dependent Clauses.

Think of a fragment sentence as a shard of pottery. We can't see the full picture, so we need more information to make sense of it.

Fixing fragments

These strategies fix fragments!

Add the Missing Subject

       Went to the Superbowl.

Can become:

        Dominique went to the Superbowl.

Add the Missing Verb

          The speaker at the podium.

Can become:

          The speaker at the podium shouted.

Listen and Connect Sentences

Sometimes you can hear a fragment if you read a sentence or two aloud. It sounds like an awkward pause where there should be none.

           She was angry. While driving in rush hour traffic.

Do you hear the awkward pause? Which sentence do you think is the problem?

If you guessed the second sentence, you're right! There is a verb, but no subject. An easy fix is to connect the two sentences. In this case, that means taking out the period.

           She was angry while driving in rush hour traffic.

Watch Out for Subordinating Conjunctions

Some words only begin half a sentence. These are mostly subordinating conjunctions. Some examples are Because, Although, If, Which, Such As, Even Though. For more on these types of words and how to use them, check out Using Conjunctions.  Read the example below aloud and listen for the awkward pause:

            I decided to attend Aims. Because it offers a variety of classes.

The second sentence begins with "because", which can only form half of a sentence (called a dependent clause, because it's dependent on another half of a sentence to make sense). To fix, connect!

           I decided to attend Aims because it offers a variety of classes.

Note:  There are many ways to fix fragments, and this is not a full list. Fragments can often be found in other forms of writing, such as novels, opinion pieces, advertisements, and more. In these cases, fragments are used for effect by the writer, and the writer is aware that she is using them. However, in an academic essay, fragments should always be avoided.