How To Use Dashes In Essays

The material inside the dashes relates to the information in the rest of the sentence but it acts as an interruption to the main point that you re making.

How to use dashes in essays. 4 9 5 5 star rating. Dashes are used to separate groups of words not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. When a sentence begins with an independent clause and ends with a list you can use a colon between the clause and the list. It is used in the same manner as a parenthetical expression. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use.

Please accept my application for the position advertised in the news and observer. To whom it may concern. How to use dashes in mla essay university of minnesota mfa creative writing application students grade good and bad example essays my december holiday essay. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence. The etruscans a largely mysterious civilisation left behind few archaeological artefacts.

The information inside the dashes is off topic. But you can use it right here right now. My brothers richard and john are visiting hanoi. Could use commas in the 15th century when of course nobody had electricity water was often pumped by hand. Since conventions differ slightly from place to place one thing you should do to ensure accuracy is check your style guide before starting an essay.

It s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The em dash is the largest of the three kinds of dashes. A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text not at the bottom. A colon can be used immediately after the greeting in a formal letter less formal letters tend to use a comma in this location. Using a colon between a verb and its object or complement.

The main use of em dashes is to set part of a sentence apart from surrounding text like brackets. The words between a pair of dashes may or may not form a complete sentence. An em dash is used to indicate a break in a sentence or question. Use a longer em dash to join independent clauses with words like and but as or and for. Rather than placing parentheses around a phrase within a statement writers can opt to surround the phrase with an em dash on either end.