A formal style of writing is written in full sentences, not in note form or bullet points. A sentence should make sense standing on its own, outside of your assignment. It should express a complete idea. Complete sentences need to have at least two parts: a subject, so who or what the sentence is about and a main verb which tells us what the subject is doing. This verb needs to belong to the subject, so has to fit in with whether the subject is singular or plural.
For example, ‘The student writes’ or ‘The students write’.
It’s best if your subject and verb are close together at the beginning of the sentence, so that your reader doesn’t have to try hard to work out what you’re saying.
Incomplete sentences, also known as sentence fragments, may be missing a subject or they might not include a matching verb, therefore the sentence sounds like something is missing or it’s not clear what it’s referring to. Here are some examples of full sentences and fragments:
Fragment:
‘Also a focus on the nurse’s role and how this role can support decision-making’.
This should be written as:
‘This essay will focus on the nurse’s role and how this role can support decision-making’.
Fragment:
‘Therefore leading to poorer outcomes’
This should be written as:
‘Therefore, this situation may lead to poorer outcomes’.
Run-on sentences, also known as comma splices, are when two or more sentences are separated by a comma instead of a full stop. If each part makes sense on its own, then there should be a full stop.
Here is an example of a run-on sentence and how it could be written:
Run-on sentence:
‘An essay should present an argument, all the content makes sense because of the argument’.
This could be written as:
‘An essay should present an argument. All the content makes sense because of the argument’.
Make sure your sentences aren’t too long as they become difficult to read. You should have no more than two ideas in one sentence.
If a lecturer needs to read a sentence several times to understand it, they’re not going to look favourably on your writing.
Vary the length of your sentences as it will make your work easier to read.