I'm doing a homework assignment - determining whether sentences are run-on, complete or usable. I'm stuck on this one.

The patient obtained records in order to save the nurse a phone call to her previous doctor and she made sure to ask right away for this to be done to save time.

Thanks for your help.

Independent clause = The patient obtained records in order to save the nurse a phone call to her previous doctor

conjunction = and

Independent clause = she made sure to ask right away for this to be done to save time.

It's not a run-on because of the conjunction "and." HOWEVER, it would be far better to revise all this into TWO sentences and to clarify "this" in the second clause.

Even better would be to shorten it like this:

To save time and a phone call, the patient obtained her records from her previous doctor.

To determine whether this sentence is a run-on, complete, or usable, we need to break it down and analyze its structure. Here's a step-by-step explanation of how to do it:

1. Identify the main clauses: A main clause contains a subject and a predicate and can stand alone as a complete sentence. In this case, there are two main clauses:
- The patient obtained records in order to save the nurse a phone call to her previous doctor.
- She made sure to ask right away for this to be done to save time.

2. Identify the conjunction: The conjunction "and" is used to connect the two main clauses. This suggests that the sentence may either be a run-on or a complete sentence with a conjunction.

3. Evaluate coherence: Run-on sentences occur when two or more main clauses are joined together without proper punctuation or conjunctions. Complete sentences, on the other hand, are grammatically correct and make sense on their own. Usable sentences may contain informal elements but still convey a clear message.

4. Analyze the context: Consider the intended meaning and context of the sentence. While some run-on sentences may be rewritten to improve clarity, others may be usable in informal writing or conversational contexts.

Based on the analysis:

- This sentence is not a run-on because it has a coordinating conjunction ("and") joining the two main clauses.
- This sentence is complete because each main clause has a subject and a predicate, and the conjunction "and" connects them appropriately.
- This sentence is usable because, even though it may be lengthy and informal, it still conveys a clear message and is grammatically correct.

To summarize, the sentence "The patient obtained records in order to save the nurse a phone call to her previous doctor and she made sure to ask right away for this to be done to save time" is a complete and usable sentence.