How can dashes be used

After a split second of hesitation, the second baseman leaped for the ball or, rather, limped for it. After a split second of hesitation, the second baseman leaped for the ball—or, rather, limped for it. Colons enable a writer to introduce a clause that amplifies whatever came before the colon. They are more formal than dashes. However, em dashes are more emphatic than colons.

When you want to generate strong emotion in your writing or create a more casual tone, use em dashes. Compare these sentences:. He is afraid of two things: spiders and senior prom. He is afraid of two things—spiders and senior prom. Writers and transcriptionists replace unknown, censored, or intentionally omitted letters with em dashes. In these cases, em dashes appear in pairs or threesomes. A former employee of the accused company, ———, offered a statement off the record. Compare the following examples.

After three weeks on set, the cast was fed up with his direction or, rather, lack of direction. The em dash can be used in place of a colon when you want to emphasize the conclusion of your sentence. The dash is less formal than the colon. Two em dashes can be used to indicate missing portions of a word, whether unknown or intentionally omitted.

When an entire word is missing, either two or three em dashes can be used. Whichever length you choose, use it consistently throughout your document. Surrounding punctuation should be placed as usual.

The em dash is typically used without spaces on either side, and that is the style used in this guide. Parentheses also signify a break in thought, but they mark an addition of information rather than an interruption like dashes do. Rather than a surprise like dashes , parentheses are a gentler insertion in your sentence.

Also like dashes, parentheses should be used sparingly. Too many can break the clarity and flow of your ideas. Another thing to keep in mind is that they are often seen as casual in tone, so make sure they are appropriate for the style of writing you are using. If not, punctuation marks such as commas are often more academically appropriate. Parentheses can be used to set off incidental information such as numbers, dates, examples, and references:.

Example : The show will run for a staggering seventeen 17 weekends. Example : A recent study examined wellness practices among Kentucky Derby winning jockeys Calamine, No mark of punctuation should ever precede a parentheses, but you can use punctuation after the closing parentheses if necessary. Example : After several weeks of exercises memory and voice , he finally began to feel competent.

If the enclosed matter is the last part of the sentence, the period comes after the parentheses, as in the next example:. Example : Horses should be regarded as assets but only the working kind.

Example : Though making a production about a winning horse has its dilemmas having the space and the janitors necessary and the normal problems expected in any play big egos, emotional cast, and a low budget , it is an immense satisfaction to make it happen. NOTE: Dashes and parentheses are great tools to use when you need to add additional information in your sentences.

However, keep in mind that they must be used judiciously, and sparingly. If used too often they can complicate the flow of your sentences, which can confuse your reader.