How To Use Dashes In Essays
The main use of em dashes is to set part of a sentence apart from surrounding text like brackets.
How to use dashes in essays. 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. When a sentence begins with an independent clause and ends with a list you can use a colon between the clause and the list. But you can use it right here right now. Using a colon between a verb and its object or complement. An em dash is used to indicate a break in a sentence or question.
The information inside the dashes is off topic. The em dash is the largest of the three kinds of dashes. To properly use a dash in an english sentence start by identifying which dash you should use. The words between a pair of dashes may or may not form a complete sentence. The etruscans a largely mysterious civilisation left behind few archaeological artefacts.
Dashes are used to separate groups of words not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. It s longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. My brothers richard and john are visiting hanoi. 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. A colon can be used immediately after the greeting in a formal letter less formal letters tend to use a comma in this location.
It is used in the same manner as a parenthetical expression. 4 9 5 5 star rating. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence. Rather than placing parentheses around a phrase within a statement writers can opt to surround the phrase with an em dash on either end. Place em dashes around non essential information or a list in the middle of a sentence like you would with commas.
If you look carefully hyphens and dashes differ in appearance as well as their use so picking the right one in any given situation is vital. To whom it may concern. Take it out and the sentence makes sense. Please accept my application for the position advertised in the news and observer. Could use commas in the 15th century when of course nobody had electricity water was often pumped by hand.