: Re: Are run-on sentences always bad? (TW, depression related stuff?) In my AP Lang class, we've recently started an activity called Visiting Author, where a student does a cold read of a piece they

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BLUF: run-on sentences aren't necessarily a bad thing. LOTS of run -ons, however, are very distracting.

I teach acting, and we often do cold reads. Some of my students are "Grammar Nazis." I tell them that the written word has rules of grammar. The spoken word has rules of grammar, which differ from those of written grammar.

Not being a poetry person, I am still inclined to say that poetry has its own form of grammar.

Whenever possible, I have my students critique each other, just as your English teacher has done. It is a very useful tool. Your post reminds me of some things I have heard in my classes. This is what I say:
Was this their honest opinion, or were they being jerks?
Oftentimes, someone will make a comment that is an honest opinion, but not worded well.

Ex: "You have a run on sentence," could actually mean "That sentence was so long and confusing I couldn't understand it."
The latter is a very useful comment. As a writer, don't you want your audience to understand what you have written?

It is also possible that the comment came from a person who really is a Grammar Nazi and won't be happy with it unless it is formatted EXACTLY the way he/she thinks it should be.

What I read in your question is that you may be bothered by their comments. If so, that is an indication that you know something is not quite right about that passage. In which case, re-write it and/or ask other people about it until it "feels" right to you.

So, to answer your question, run-on sentences aren't necessarily a bad thing. LOTS of run -ons, however, are very distracting.

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