To start, a run-on sentence is not necessarily a long sentence. It consists of two independent clauses that aren't properly connected together.
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Knowing that millions of people around the world would be watching in person and on television and expecting great things from him — at least one more gold medal for America, if not another world record — during this, his fourth and surely his last appearance in the World Olympics, and realizing that his legs could no longer carry him down the runway with the same blazing speed and confidence in making a huge, eye-popping leap that they
were capable of a few years ago when he set world records in the 100-meter dash and in the 400-meter relay and won a silver medal in the long jump, the renowned sprinter and track-and-field personality Carl Lewis, who had known pressure from fans and media before but never, even as a professional runner, this kind of pressure, made only a few appearances in races during the few months before the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, partly because he was afraid of raising expectations even higher and he did not want to be distracted by interviews and adoring fans who would follow him into stores and restaurants demanding autographs and photo-opportunities, but mostly because he wanted to conserve his energies and concentrate, like a martial arts expert, on the job at hand: winning his favorite competition, the long jump, and bringing home another Gold Medal for the United States, the most fitting conclusion to his brilliant career in track and field.----------------------------
It's quite a long sentence, but it is grammatically sound.
Q made the shot he scored three points.
The above sentence is incorrect. If you split the sentence after shot and make the two parts their own individual sentences you will see you get two grammatically-sound sentences.
Q made the shot. He scored three points.
A comma-splice is when one attempts to add a comma in order to remedy the problem of a run-on sentence. However a comma cannot be used alone. A sentence with two independent clauses like so needs a conjunction such as and, but, for, nor, yet, or so.
Q made the shot; he scored three points.
Q made the shot, and he scored three points.
Q made the shot and scored three points.
All of these 3 sentences are grammatically correct. I won't cover why the semi-colon can be used here but it's a probable solution. The comma is used with the conjunction 'and' in the 2nd sentence. The 3rd sentence has two parallel structures. Q did two things--he made the shot and scored three points. All 3 sentences should work fine.
One large source for run-on sentences that people do not recognize is the use of words like however.
Justin hit the ball 400 feet in the air, however, it was a foul ball.
This sentence may appear to be right, but it is in fact misleading. However is not a conjunction and is not one of the options in terms of properly connecting two independent clauses. Because the independent claused "Just hit the ball..." and "it was a foul ball" are not properly connected, the sentence is labeled a run-on sentence or fused sentence (just an alternate name).
You could fix this by doing--
Justin hit the ball 400 feet in the air; however, it was a foul ball.
Justin hit the ball 400 feet in the air, but it was a foul ball.
Justin hit the ball 400 feet in the air. Unfortunately, it was a foul ball.
Here are some exercises for you to try out. Choose which sentence is the most appropriate/grammatically correct! Look for run-on sentences!
1. A) The orthodontist isn't nice, nor he tightens my braces.
B) The orthodontist isn't nice; he tightens my braces.
C) The orthodontist isn't nice: he tightens my braces.
D) The orthodontist isn't nice, he tightens my braces.
E) None of the above
2. A) The media center lady scolded us, we were whispering too loudly.
B) The media center lady scolded us, and we were whispering too loudly.
C) The media center lady scolded us. We were whispering too loudly.
D) The media center lady scolded us; were whispering too loudly.
E) None of the above
3. A) This project might seem boring, but it is actually not too boring.
B) This project might seem boring. Actually, it is not too boring.
C) This project might seem boring, however, it is actually not too boring.
D) A & B are both correct, but A is a better choice.
E) A & C are both correct, but A is better choice.
F) They're all wrong.
G) Our teacher is always right, let's ask her.
4. A) Waking up later than normal on Wednesdays is fun, and a lot of people get to do it.
B) Waking up later than normal, for a lot of people, on Wednesdays is fun.
C) Waking up later than normal on Wednesdays is fun a lot of people get to do it.
D) Waking up later than normal on Wednesdays is fun, a lot of people get to do it.
Want the answers? Well, here's a riddle! It's only here to help me remind myself of the answers.
Learning to count doesn't help much if you don't start with #1!
I hope that helped! See ya~~!!!!!
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