How do you use dashes in prose?

Use dashes to mark the beginning and end of a series, which might otherwise get confused, with the rest of the sentence: Example: The three female characters—the wife, the nun, and the jockey—are the incarnation of excellence. Dashes are also used to mark the interruption of a sentence in dialogue: Example: “Help!

What can I use instead of a dash in writing?

Dashes can be replaced by several other punctuations including commas, colons and brackets.
 

What effect does the excessive use of dashes have in the story?

Use the dash carefully: overuse of dashes will give your writing a breathless and disjointed appearance. And don’t use a dash for any purpose other than setting off a strong interruption: the dash is never used in place of a hyphen, after a colon or after a heading.

Can you use dashes in formal writing?

Dashes are only used in informal writing; in academic and business writing, use parentheses, commas, or colons instead.

What are the 3 types of dashes?

There are actually three different types of dashes: the em-dash, the en- dash, and the 3-em dash. The em-dash can be used to replace parentheses, colons, and commas. Generally, using the em- dash makes the writing style more informal—as if you were writing to an old friend.

Why do authors use dashes in their writing?

A dash is a horizontal line that shows a pause or break in meaning, or that represents missing words or letters. Note that dashes are rather informal and should be used carefully in writing. Dashes are often used informally instead of commas, colons and brackets. A dash may or may not have a space on either side of it.

Can I use a semicolon instead of a dash?

The difference between an em-dash and a semicolon is the length and purpose of the pause it creates. An em-dash isolates the idea that follows; a semicolon combines two ideas into one. The best way to determine if you can use an em-dash or a semicolon is to try them both out in your sentence, then read it aloud.
 

How do you make a dash not hyphenated?

If you want to use en dashes instead of hyphens, insert a space before the hyphen. Word will automatically convert the hyphen into an en dash.

How do you use dashes in between dialogue?

To create interrupted dialogue that everyone will recognize as such, use an em-dash where you want to end the dialogue. You create an em-dash by typing two hyphens, and most word processing programs will tie them automatically into the longer dash.
 

What are the 4 uses of dashes?

Dashes

• To set off material for emphasis. Think of dashes as the opposite of parentheses.
• To indicate sentence introductions or conclusions. You can sometimes use a dash to help readers see that certain words are meant as an introduction or conclusion to your sentence.
• To mark “bonus phrases.”
• To break up dialogue.

Why do poets use dashes?

The dashes’ ability to create silence within the poem, forcing the reader to stop and take a break wherever one occurs, Johnson refers to as a “musical device” (x). The pause they create mimics the same effect as a comma, coaxing the reader into pausing, though on a slightly different scale.