UNIVERSITY OF EL SALVADOR

WESTERN MULTIDISCIPLINARY CAMPUS

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
ENGLISH COMPOSITION I
RESPONSIBLE: Professor Darlene Mata

UNIT II: Sentence Coordination and subordination

TOPIC I: Faulty Coordination
BY:
Anglica Cecilia
Jos Francisco
Ana Karenina
Erick Roberto
Stanley Oswaldo
Eduardo Alfredo
Diana Sara
SUBTOPICS:
What is coordination?
What is faulty?
What is faulty coordination?
Example of faulty coordination
When do we coordinate faultily?
How do we fix faulty coordination?
- Appositive
- Separate the clauses and omit the coordinating conjunction
- If one is less important, turn it into subordinate clause
- Reduce an important idea to a phrase
OBJECTIVE:
At the end of this class SWAT:
Define faulty coordination.
Recognize the ways of joining words, clauses, or sentences by coordination.
Use coordinate methods in combining words, clauses, or sentences.
MATERIALS: Laptop, LCD projector, Prezi presentation
TIME: 45 minutes

35
minutes

FAULTY COORDINATION
WHAT IS COORDINATION?
Coordination: linking together words, groups of words (clauses), or sentences of equal type and
importance, to put energy into writing.
Coordinating conjunctions:
For
And
Nor
But

I went to bed early yesterday, for I was tired.

I drove to the bank, and I checked my account balance.
We have never been to Asia, nor have we visited Africa.
My brother likes the mountains, but I like the beach.

Or
Yet
So

I could buy jeans and a coat, or I could buy several other things up to that amount.
He likes to play tennis, yet his favorite sport is football.
He ran out of money, so he had to stop playing poker.

WHAT IS FAULTY?
Working badly or unreliably because of imperfections.
Example:
-

He liked to play basketball and riding horses. (faulty)

He liked playing basketball and riding horses. (right)

WHAT IS FAULTY COORDINATION?

When two or more independent clauses of unequal importance are joined by coordinating
conjunctions (FANBOYS) the result is faulty coordination.
We usually find faulty coordination in compound sentences that contain the coordinating
conjunction AND.
Uses of fanboys:
For explains reason or purpose (just like because)
Example:
I go to the park every Sunday, for I love to watch the ducks on the lake.
And- adds one thing to another. To join similar or equal elements; without contrast
Example:
He is favorite snacks are cake and biscuits.
Nor- used to present an alternative negative idea to an already stated negative idea
Example:
I dont go for the fresh air nor really for the ducks. Honestly, I just like the soccer.
But- shows contrast
Example:

The soccer in the park is entertaining in the winter, but its better in the heat of summer.
Or- presents an alternative or a choice
Example:
The men play on teams: shirts or skins.
Yet- introduces a contrasting idea that follows the preceding idea logically (similar to but)
Example:
I always take a book to read, yet I never seem to turn a single page.
So- indicates effect, result or consequence
Example:
Ive started dating one of the soccer players, so now I have an excuse to watch the game each week.
EXAMPLE OF FAULTY COORDINATION:
Faulty
Revised

Jacob is a foster child and has to go to the dentist often.

Jacob is a foster child whose real parents neglected his teeth; consequently, he
has to go to the dentist often.
WHEN DO WE COORDINATE FAULTILY?

Faulty coordination
By putting unrelated ideas into separate sentences or less important ideas into subordinate clauses or
phrases.
Example: Over the past decade many African American students have chosen to complete their
formal education at Southern colleges and now in the city of Atlanta there is a major educational
center built expressly to accommodate this upsurge of interest in the New South. (Two main clauses
are given equal emphasis and connected by the coordinating conjunction and )
Faulty coordination: gives equal emphasis to unequal or unrelated clauses.
Example: The African American playwright August Wilson has won two Pulitzer Prizes for drama,
and he now lives in Seattle, Washington.
Revised: The African playwright August Wilson, who lives in Seattle now, has won two Pulitzer
Prizes for drama.
HOW DO WE FIX AWKWARD OR FAULTY COORDINATION?
Writers can use different strategies to coordinate effectively and only the necessary information, the
one that needs to be coordinated.

AN APPOSITIVE

We can revise faulty coordination by putting part of the sentence in a dependent clause, modifying
phrase, or appositive phrase (an appositive is a noun or pronoun- often with modifiers- placed near
another noun or pronoun to explain, describe, or identify it).
1. CSUN's Square, a hangout for its African American student community, has been quiet of
late. (A hangout for its African American student community describes CSUN's Square).
2.
3. My sister Tiyifa lives in Colorado Springs. (Tiyifa identifies sister).
Typically, an appositive follows the word it refers to, but it may also precede the word:
1. A very inspirational tale of courage and honor, Glory is based on actual accounts of the allblack 54th Regiment during the American Civil War. (A very inspirational tale of courage and
honor describes Glory)
SEPARATE THE CLAUSES AND OMIT THE COORDINATING CONJUCTION.
Faulty coordination:
Steam was pouring forth from my car and the gas station attendant said I should have had checked
months ago.
Corrected sentence:
Steam was pouring forth from my car. The gas station attendant said I should have had checked
months ago.
IF ONE IS LESS IMPORTANT, TURN IT INTO SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
You will have to examine each independent clause and determine if one is less important o dependent
on the other. If so, turn it into a subordinate clause.
Faulty coordination: I didnt do well and the race was very easy.
Correct: sentence: I didnt do well even though the race was very easy.
Faulty coordination: My tooth cracked, and I desperately needed to see a dentist.
Correct sentence: When my tooth cracked, I desperately needed to see a dentist.
REDUCE AN UNIMPORTANT IDEA TO A PHRASE.
Faulty coordination: The dog looked ferocious, and it was snarling and snapping at me.
Corrected sentence: Snarling and snapping at me, the dog looked ferocious.

10
minutes

PRACTICE
CORRECTING FAULTY COORDINATION
DIRECTION: Read carefully the following sentences. If the sentences contain faulty coordination
rewrite each of the them by putting unrelated ideas into separate sentences or by putting a less
important or subordinate idea into a subordinate clause. But if the sentences dont contain faulty
coordination write CORRECT.
EXAMPLES:
Faulty: James Joyce spent many years in exile abroad, and he wrote a collection of short stories call
Called Dubliners.
Correct: James Joyce spent many years in exile abroad. He wrote a collection of short stories called
Dubliners.
Faulty: Pat is afraid of honeybees, and they are necessary for cross-pollination.
Correct: Although Pat is afraid of honeybees, they are necessary for cross-pollination.
1. The Carlsbad Caverns are in New Mexico, and we visited them last summer.
_________________________________________________________________________
2. The children were ready at noon, and their parents arrived at three.
_________________________________________________________________________
3. The stores were filled with shoppers, and the parking lot was not full.
_________________________________________________________________________

4.

They got there early, and they got really good seats.
_________________________________________________________________________
5. Jennifer liked her new school, and she wrote a letter every week.
_________________________________________________________________________
6. Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist, and he left Germany before World War II.
_________________________________________________________________________
ANSWERS: