How To Use Dashes In Writing

Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence.

How to use dashes in writing. 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. The big daddy of dashes the em dash is generally twice as long again as the en dash. Em dashes so called because they are at least historically the width of the character m are used for emphasis or interruption. In windows hold down the alt key then press the numbers 0150. Could use commas in the 15th century when of course nobody had electricity water was often pumped by hand.

It is used in the same manner as a parenthetical expression. Similarly limit the frequency of dash use in your writing. Take it out and the sentence makes sense. The information inside the dashes is off topic. Use an em dash to join independent clauses.

Dashes are usually considered to be informal. Although many people call the hyphen a dash dash refers to another group of horizontal lines in text. When the dash is used in this way it creates a compound adjective. Most commonly a dash connects an independent clause with another with a related thought plus a conjunction like or but yet as for and after the second dash. On a mac hold down the option key then press the minus key.

The words between a pair of dashes may or may not form a complete sentence. An em dash is used to indicate a break in a sentence or question. With that background information in mind let s take a look at some ways to put dashes to work in your writing. It should be reserved to emphasize a limited number of important points. To set off material for emphasis.

The material inside the dashes relates to the information in the rest of the sentence but it acts as an interruption to the main point that you re making. My brothers richard and john are visiting hanoi. The name em indicates that the dash is roughly the size of the letter m. The two most common dashes are the em dash and the en dash. Using the en dash to denote a connection the en dash may also be used to indicate a connection between two words.