These are sentences that should be separated (either as two sentences, or distinct parts of a sentence separated by a comma) but are joined.

Can you see the problem in the following examples?

Students work too hard and read too much and have no free time and are exhausted.
In the past we didn’t need as much, we were more satisfied with what we had.
Traveling is very stressful it takes a lot of energy to be focused on staying safe keeping on schedule and experiencing a new culture.
Dogs are not independent animals they require a lot of love and affection as well as general attention from their owners. To fix them, you may need to add a comma and conjunction (and/so/but) or you may need to add a period (full stop).

Example:

Students work too hard and read too much. They have no free time and are exhausted.
In the past we didn’t need as much, as we were more satisfied with what we had.
Traveling is very stressful. It takes a lot of energy to be focused on staying safe, keeping on schedule and experiencing a new culture.
Dogs are not independent animals, so they require a lot of love and affection as well as general attention from their owners.

Fragments are sentences that are not complete. Usually they are missing a subject, verb or object. Sometimes quite long sentences are fragments, usually because they are made up of noun phrases. It is important to remember that it is content and structure, not length that make a sentence.

Can you see the problems in the following examples?

• The choice of schools, entertainment options and facilities.
• Despite liking cold weather.
• Later, my mother.
• In addition, the furniture, books and personal items.
• Such as that of students and teachers.
• For example, recycling and solar energy.

To fix them, you may need to add a verb or subject, connect them to the sentence directly before or after, or simply add more information with a phrase.

Example:

• The choice of schools, entertainment options and facilities is much better in the city.
• Despite liking cold weather, I would never live in Alaska.
• Later, my mother rang.
• In addition, the furniture, books and personal items need to be packed.
• Many relationships, such as that of students and teachers, involve power differences.
• People are more and more interested in the environment nowadays, for example, recycling and solar energy.