What is a correct way to write the sentence to avoid a comma splice: "The students wanted to form a chess club, however the administration did not approve"?

Using a semicolon or period is a correct way to resolve the comma splice present in the original sentence. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a comma without an appropriate conjunction. In this case, "The students wanted to form a chess club" and "the administration did not approve" are both complete sentences.

By replacing the comma with a semicolon, the sentence maintains its coherence while properly connecting the two related but separate thoughts. For instance, rephrasing it as "The students wanted to form a chess club; however, the administration did not approve" clarifies the relationship between the two statements.

Alternatively, using a period would transform the sentence into two distinct statements: "The students wanted to form a chess club. However, the administration did not approve." This also effectively separates the ideas and avoids the error associated with the comma splice. In summary, both a semicolon and a period offer grammatically correct solutions to improving the structure of the original sentence.