Page 646 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

a pink sweater, and a pair of gray athletic shoes. My stomach was

rumbling, so I sliced a ripe banana into a bowl, poured milk over it,

and ate it standing at the counter. Then I stepped into the sunlight,
cranked up my silver Toyota, and headed for school.

Often, ideas expressed in short, simple sentences can be joined to

make a more effective, interesting sentence. One way to connect
sentences is called coordination. Coordination can be done in two

ways: by using a comma and a FANBOYS conjunction or by using a

semicolon and a joining word.

Comma and FANBOYS

FANBOYS conjunctions, more commonly called coordinating

conjunctions, are used with a comma to connect two independent
clauses. Remember that a clause is a grammatical unit that contains

a subject and a verb and that an independent clause can stand

alone as a sentence. The acronym FANBOYS stands for the seven

coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Following is the pattern used when a FANBOYS conjunction is used

with a comma to connect two independent clauses. The comma goes

before the FANBOYS conjunction.

Independent clause, and independent clause.