How to Use Em Dashes

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Em dashes allow for sophisticated and creative approaches to writing, giving the writer unique abilities to add emphasis, clarify information, and interrupt thoughts right in the middle of a sentence! While correct use of em dashes can add variety and intrigue to writing, overuse em dashes can sound informal and can also be distracting for readers. Use em dashes for strategic rhetorical effect but use them sparingly.

Terms You Need to Know to Use Em Dashes

“EM”: It’s worth knowing why the em dash is called an “em” dash. An em is a unit of measurement that changes based on the font you are using. One em is the length of a given font’s height, which is measured in points. So, for example, if you are using Times New Roman and you have an 11-point font, one em is 11 points. So an em dash in Times New Roman, when using an 11-point font is 11-points wide.

MAIN CLAUSE: A main clause is another word for independent clause, or a complete sentence. A main clause must have both a subject and a predicate (a verb phrase). Em dashes can be used to interject a main clause for clarity or emphasis.

INTERJECT: In grammar, “to interject” means to insert words or phrases into a sentence that are not grammatically part of a sentence. So, for example, if you write a sentence that you want to suddenly insert the phrase “unbelievable!” into, you can use em dashes to interject that phrase into the main clause.

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3 Ways to Use Em Dashes

1. Interject a Main Clause to add Emphasis
2. Clarify with Added Detail
3. Suggest an Interruption in Thought or Change in Direction

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1. Interject a Main Clause to Add Emphasis

DESCRIPTION
Sometimes, you may want to add emphasis to something you are saying by interjecting a word or phrase in the middle of the sentence. Do this with em dashes!

APPLICATION
To insert an interjection in the middle of a sentence, place one em dash on both sides of the interjected phrase.

NOTE: An em dash is not a hyphen. To insert an em dash in MS Word, you must:

1. Type a word (don’t put a space after it)
2. Type two hyphens
3. Type another word
4. Press the space bar.

To insert an em dash into other programs using Windows, you can also type ALT+0151

EXAMPLE

• Movie theater popcorn—you know, the good stuff!—supposedly has more fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries, and a steak dinner combined.
• (In this sentence, the interjection has no grammatical importance on the sentence but adds informal emphasis to add personality.)

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Clarify with Added Detail

DESCRIPTION
If you make a statement that might require added detail for your reader to understand precisely what you are talking about, you can include that added detail between em dashes. Note: the information you included between dashes must not be necessary to make the sentence grammatically correct.

APPLICATION
To insert an interjection in the middle of a sentence, place one em dash on both sides of the interjected phrase.

NOTE: An em dash is not a hyphen. To insert an em dash in MS Word, you must:

1. Type a word (don’t put a space after it)
2. Type two hyphens
3. Type another word
4. Press the space bar.

To insert an em dash into other programs using Windows, you can also type ALT+0151

EXAMPLE

• My old roommate—the one who always wore the furry shoes—just sold his bottle cap collection for $25,000.
• (In this sentence, the clarifying detail between dashes has no grammatical importance on the sentence but it adds information that may be necessary for the reader to understand which roommate the writer is talking about.)

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Suggest Interruption in Thought or Change in Direction

DESCRIPTION
In informal writing or in dialogue, you may wish at times to write part of a sentence and then, mid-thought, change directions of the sentences. You can steer a sentence another direction by using an em dash.

APPLICATION
To insert an interjection in the middle of a sentence, place one em dash on both sides of the interjected phrase.

NOTE: An em dash is not a hyphen. To insert an em dash in MS Word, you must:

1. Type a word (don’t put a space after it)
2. Type two hyphens
3. Type another word
4. Press the space bar.

To insert an em dash into other programs using Windows, you can also type ALT+0151

EXAMPLE

• That new maple bacon milkshake sounds so bizarre that I—oh, what the heck, give it to me!
• (In this sentence, the writer—part way through the sentence—doesn’t finish the original thought but changes direction. This is an informal way of writing that adds personality and depth but this use of the em dash should be used sparingly.)