Not Beginning a Sentence with a Conjunction
Conjunctions are words that join thoughts together; examples of coordinating conjunctions include "and," "but," or "yet." Many teachers have a preference for not starting sentences with a coordinating conjunction. This is largely because in doing so some people end up writing fragments. Like the other two rules, following it just depends on whom you are writing for. If you have a professor or boss that prefers you do not start sentences with conjunctions, then you will need to be aware of and avoid the practice.For many people, it is acceptable to write sentences starting with coordinating conjunctions. Because it is a debatable issue, however, it is important that you understand what they are and how to avoid them. In casual writing, advertising copywriting, and often in journalistic writing, it is acceptable to start sentences with conjunctions. In more formal writing, it usually is preferable that you do not start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. If your writing has any sentences beginning with a coordinating conjunction, it is probably wise to see if it would be better written another way.
Examples starting with a coordinating conjunction:
But I could not do my homework because I lost my textbook.
And then after lunch, she started crying about the apple on the floor.
Or salt the porch to keep it from being slippery.
Coordinating conjunctions typically connect one complete independent clause, or a sentence with a subject and verb that could stand alone, with another complete thought. The two independent clauses are joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Examples of the sentences rewritten to not start with the conjunction:
She needed food for the party, so she went to the store.
She received a phone call this morning, and after lunch she started crying about the apple on the floor.
Leave the porch slippery, or salt it to melt the ice and snow.
These three writing rules may seem a little confusing at first, but you will get used to them after catching them a few times. While the origin of using such rules dates back some time and they have evolved over the years, it is still a good idea to understand them and see if you can apply them to your writing to create documents that are more clear, direct, and effective.
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