We often think of the comma as a pause in a sentence. But what if you need a DRAMATIC
pause? That’s when you use a dash. Use a dash when you want to make an abrupt change
in the pace of your writing, or to call attention to a parenthetical phrase. But be careful
using this powerful form of punctuation. If you overdo it, your writing may seem...OVER-dramatic.
It’s very common to use a PAIR of dashes instead of parentheses, when you want to EMPHASIZE
a parenthetical phrase, rather than have it be a more subtle aside.
Abraham Lincoln - one of the most celebrated American Presidents - did not not start out
in politics. Here, the dash provides much more emphasis
on the unexpected nature of his successful presidency. If we use a comma instead, you
read it a little differently: Abraham Lincoln, one of the most celebrated
American Presidents, did not start out in politics.
It’s not wrong, it’s just less dramatic. Decide for yourself whether the parenthetical
phrase needs that extra dramatic emphasis that the dash brings.
Henry James used the dash in this sentence describing Thoreau:
He was worse than provincial - he was parochial. We may need to look up both of those words
before we realize how insulting that is. “Provincial”means unsophisticated - you only know about what
goes on in your own province. In other words, you have a narrow-minded view of the world.
“Parochial” is even worse - you only know about what goes on in your own little neighborhood.
You are such a country bumpkin, you can’t begin to understand how complex the world
is. What if Henry James’s famous insult used
a comma instead? He was worse than provincial, he was parochial.
That sentence is fine - It just lacks that final death blow.
If you’re interested in typography, you’ll want to know that, depending on the
length of the dash, it’s called an en-dash or an em-dash. The en-dash is as wide as the
letter n. The em dash is as wide as the letter m. Notice that both en-dashes and em-dashes
are longer than hyphens. Most publishing houses pick one of these dashes and use it as their
standard. Typically, the em-dash is used as the dramatic punctuation mark, and the en-dash
is used to show a range of times or dates. (Open 9-5; 1941-1945).
If you’re still not sure whether you should use a dash, remember - there is never
a case where you are REQUIRED to use a dash. Try using a comma, a colon, or parentheses
instead. If you find you really need to dramatically change the pace in that one spot - go ahead,