Welcome to this week's writing lesson from

 MyEnglishTeacher.net

You Look Dash-ing!  

Lesson Topic: Using Dashes (—) in Writing

Take a look at this sentence:

The first thing the lazy employees did when they arrived at work—besides slowly drinking their coffee—was to turn on their computers so the boss would think they were busy at work.

Look at the two dashes (—).  Is there anything else the writer could have used instead of the dashes?  It is possible for the writer to have used commas (,) instead of the dashes.   Since the writer could have used commas, why did she choose to use dashes?  That's a great question!

This leads us to another question: What is a dash and when should we use it?  

The definition of a dash is probably best summed up by the famous grammarian William Strunk Jr:

Unlike other forms of punctuation, the dash does not have one specific usage.   

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In normal circumstances, other punctuation marks (commas, colons, or parentheses) should be used.  However, when you want a phrase or another part of the sentence to have extra emphasis, a dash may be used.  Take a look at this sentence:

In this sentence, a colon has been used.  The writing seems to be formal.  In addition, the writing seems to NOT need any extra emphasis.

Look at the following sentence:

In this sentence, dashes are used because it seems informal and the clause inside the dashes needs some emphasis.  The emphasis is added in order to show that Tony could do nothing in this situation.  The writer could have used parentheses, but parentheses may have been too formal for this situation.

When you are not sure if you can use a dash in your writing, remember how William Strunk Jr. defines its usage:

 

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Quiz time

Directions: Read the sentences.  Put the green words in the blue sentence.  Other words may need to be changed.

	main sentence	added information	answer
1	Julius Caesar's last spoken words were "Et tu Brute?"	this is according to Shakespeare
2	The first time I went skiing is when I met my husband.	during this time I also broke my leg
3	In order to ensure a pleasant camping trip, campers must bring various essential items.	those items are a lantern, a sleeping bag, food, water, and a flashlight
4	He was so smart that even encyclopedias couldn't teach him anything.	at least he thought he was smart
5	When Albert wasn't mean and nasty, he would just ignore you as if you didn't exist on the planet.	his meanness, though, was a rarity

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You may ask, "What is the difference between formal and informal?"  That is a good question.  That usually depends on two things: the writer and the audience.  One writer may feel that a sentence is formal whereas another writer may feel it is completely informal.  Each writer is entitled to his/her own opinion.  

Second, the audience may determine whether a sentence is formal or not.  If the writing is for a textbook to be read by university students and professors, the writing should be (in most situations) considered formal.  However, if the writing is a letter to a friend, or perhaps dialogue in a novel, the writing may be considered informal.  

In conclusion, the final judgment must be made by the writer.

For more information about about other marks of punctuation, please see our other lessons:

• commas
• semicolons
• colons
• quotation marks