![]() Use Em Dashes For Clarity and StyleĮm dashes can bring both clarity and style to all types of writing. If you don’t feel like messing with codes, you can always copy and paste an em dash from Microsoft Word or the Internet. U+2014 is the unicode value for the em dash. The html codes for the em dash are “ -”or “ -“. In Microsoft Word, you can also type two consecutive hyphens (–) and Word should automatically convert this to an em dash. (*Note that only the numbers on the right hand keypad can be used to achieve this, not the numbers above the letters.) On your PC, hold down the Alt key while typing 0151. To quickly form an em dash using your Mac, simultaneously hold the Shift, Option, and Minus keys. There are several different ways to form an em dash using codes. Now, what was I looking for-oh, right! My prescription. This technique is best used in creative or informal writing.Īs I was saying-Katie, no, put the scissors down!-kids can be quite the handful. Particularly useful when writing dialogue, an em dash can be used to indicate interjections or changes in thought mid-sentence. To Indicate an Interruption or Change in Thought Wine, roses, chocolate-all see a sharp rise in sales when Valentine’s Day rolls around.ĭogs, cats, horses-Kelly loved all animals, as one could easily see upon entering her backyard. Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris-some of the best white wines come from the Alsace region of France. This helps to focus multiple items into one idea, and it’s also easier for readers to comprehend. When a sentence begins with a list, an em dash is better suited for separating the list than a colon. If you have any questions, call my sister-Anna, not Sarah-and she’ll be able to help you. The four styles of writing-expository, descriptive, narrative, and persuasive-are usually taught to students in grade school. The three of us-my mother, father, and I-left early this morning for the airport. Using two em dashes can alleviate the problem. To Set Apart Appositives Containing CommasĪppositives are bits of extra information that are added into a sentence for clarification or elaboration.Ĭommas are usually used to indicate appositives, but if an appositive itself contains commas, the sentence can get confusing. Tina had to admit-even if she hated to-that Mark had been right all along. Things just weren’t the same without Silvano-our cheerful, singing neighbor-to watch over the neighborhood. Greta rose early-as she did every morning-and prepared breakfast for her husband. Smith (our family dentist) at the supermarket today. Smith, our family dentist, at the supermarket today. ![]() Note that this sentence could also be written using commas: Smith-our family dentist-at the supermarket today. In this case, two em dashes are needed-but avoid using more than two em dashes per sentence, as this can result in more confusion than clarification. To Include Parenthetical InformationĮm dashes are often used to include parenthetical information within sentences, since they put more emphasis on the information in between. When to Use an Em DashĪn em dash (or em dash es) can be used in a number of situations to increase clarity or give emphasis to certain words. (Likewise, the en dash is about the length of an N).īy learning when and how to properly use the em dash, you can bring added clarity and style to your work. ![]() Longer than an en dash and three times longer than a hyphen, the em dash (-) is named for its length, as it’s roughly the width of the capital letter M. ![]() Using escapes can make it difficult to read and maintain source code, and can also significantly increase file size.If you’re not using em dashes in your writing, you’re missing out on a very versatile punctuation that can replace commas, parentheses, or colons-not to mention they look pretty cool, too. It is almost always preferable to use an encoding that allows you to represent characters in their normal form, rather than using character entity references or NCRs. From the section "When Not to Use Escapes" They also mention using characters that might not be supported in the current encoding. These are part of the language for all documents based on XML and for HTML. There are three characters that should always appear in content as escapes, so that they do not interact with the syntax of the markup. As they are also the group that is in charge of the HTML specification, I think it's best to follow their advice. The W3C released an official response about when to use and when not to use character escapes which you can find here. ![]()
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