How To Use Long Dashes In Writing
Do not confuse a dash with a hyphen which is shorter.
How to use long dashes in writing. You can use these dashes in your writing to signify breaks dialogue and much more. Both sentences should be complete and their content should be very closely related. So don t get carried away with your colons. Use an em dash to bring focus to a list. Dashes are used to extend a sentence to replace colons semicolons or three dots.
Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas. Note that dashes are rather informal and should be used carefully in writing. Em dash shortcut windows ctrl alt minus on numeric keypad em dash shortcut mac command m. Dashes are used to separate groups of words not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. A dash may or may not have a space on either side of it.
Long dashes in writing. Dashes can also be used as parenthesis. You can use a colon to connect two sentences when the second sentence summarizes sharpens or explains the first. They are named as such because the en dash is as long as a lowercase n and an em dash is as long as an uppercase m. As one commentator has noted dashes in her work are either long or short.
The most common types of dashes are the en dash and the em dash. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. Em dash other names. Em en and the double hyphen. Read also about the difference between dashes and hyphens.
Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence. The two most common dashes are the en dash and the em dash. 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. Note that if you use colons this way too often it can break up the flow of your writing. It s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause.