January 22, 2020

Dishing on Dashes

Here’s the truth about dashes—they are unessential, you can get by writing without them, and some writers despise them.

We’re not among those writers. We dig the dash, and this tip will show you how to add this versatile punctuation to your writing toolkit.

When can I use dashes?

A dash is a horizontal line (—) that signals a pause or a break in meaning. You can use dashes primarily in place of commas, semicolons, colons, or parentheses.

Two dashes—like these—embed an idea within a sentence.

The college campus is among the few places remaining where ideas—even those that are abhorrent to all or most audiences—may be freely expressed.

One dash sets off an idea for emphasis—like this.

Well-written letters and memos help businesses serve clients well—to everyone's benefit.

Notice that you could replace the dashes with commas in the last two examples, and the sentences would still work okay. However, dashes—with their sheer length—force longer pauses and emphasize the idea more than commas would.

Dashes clarify ideas in longer sentences, where embedded material sometimes gets lost in a sea of commas. In Warren Buffett’s 2018 letter to shareholders, he uses dashes to keep complex ideas sorted.

Confusing Commas

What starts as an “innocent” fudge in order to not disappoint “the Street,” say, trade-loading at quarter-end, turning a blind eye to rising insurance losses, or drawing down a “cookie-jar” reserve, can become the first step toward full-fledged fraud.

Decisive Dashes

What starts as an “innocent” fudge in order to not disappoint “the Street” —say, trade-loading at quarter-end, turning a blind eye to rising insurance losses, or drawing down a “cookie-jar” reserve—can become the first step toward full-fledged fraud.

Without the dashes, readers may have a tough time knowing where the explanatory material begins and ends.

Buffett understands that dashes also work to create asides or reiterate ideas.

The final funding source—which again Berkshire possesses to an unusual degree—is deferred income taxes.

When such a mega catastrophe strikes, we will get our share of the losses and they will be big—very big.

The dash in the last example creates a sense of drama.

You can also use a dash to set up a surprise or other unexpected shift in tone, as shown in this quip.

Before you have an argument with your boss, take a good look at both sides—her side and the outside.

Dashes also work to introduce a list or to introduce a statement that explains or summarizes a prior list.

Effective communication has a three-part structure—an opening, a middle, and a closing.

Energy drinks, apps, or pilates—she could successfully market anything.

When should I avoid dashes?

Now that we've professed our dash admiration, we should offer a few words of warning. First, be careful not to overuse dashes, as too many of them can make your writing choppy and difficult to read. As a baseline rule, never use more than two in one sentence.

Second, some old-school grammarians view dashes as too informal for important business documents, though not many people see it that way anymore. Nevertheless, when writing formal business documents, use dashes sparingly and always with your reader in mind.