How To Properly Use Dashes In Writing
What s the difference between a hyphen and a dash.
How to properly use dashes in writing. Using the en dash to denote a connection. There are three types of dashes in writing used to convey different ideas in an engaging way. Here are some examples. Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption. Here s a hyphen and here s a dash most of us don t normally type out a dash.
The big daddy of dashes the em dash is generally twice as long again as the en dash. After we buy toenail clippers the dinosaur in that exhibit could use a trim you know we ll stop at the doughnut shop. A long dash s primary job is to tell the reader that you ve jumped tracks onto a new though related subject just for a moment. But if you learn how to type dashes correctly it will add a more professional feel to anything you write. The sure fire way of creating an em dash is to use alt and 0151 on the numeric keypad.
Long dashes in writing. After reading the handout you will be better able to decide when to use these forms of punctuation in your own writing. So what s the difference. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use.
The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash. Us publishers and the oxford university press in the uk choose to use closed up em dashes em dashes without any spaces where other uk publishers might use spaced en dashes. When the dash is used in this way it creates a compound adjective. The shorter en dash is used to mark ranges. What this handout is about.
This handout explains the most common uses of three kinds of punctuation. There are two types of dash. Examine these useful hyphen em dash and en dash examples. The en dash is approximately the length of the letter n and the em dash the length of the letter m. In practice many people use hyphens where they need to use dashes.