Alternative Punctuation: Em Dash —

This is a four part series that explores punctuation beyond the humble comma. We will look at how to use em dashes, colons, semicolons, and ellipses to spice up our writing and create expression with exactitude.

My favorite punctuation mark—like many writers—is the em dash. It’s versatility in replacing commas, parentheses, and colons makes it a go-to mark that can help to define meaning in a complex sentence. It can also create further separation for information that may interrupt the flow of a sentence.

Examples:

Replacing commas
- Mary, who loved to go shopping, had maxed out her credit card.
- Mary—who loved to go shopping—had maxed out her credit card.

Replacing parentheses
- Sam and Martha (a husband and wife team) were the top sellers of the year.
- Sam and Martha—a husband and wife team—were the top sellers of the year.

Replacing colons
- Jim wanted to look at every car brand on the lot: Toyotas, Chevrolets, and Subarus.
- Jim wanted to look at every car brand on the lot—Toyotas, Chevrolets, and Subarus.

In many cases, any of these marks can be used to separate the extra information from the main body of the sentence. In my opinion, it’s best to use an em dash over the other marks when you want to create emphasis. If the information between the em dashes is important or funny or emotional, I would opt to forgo the other marks.

This does not hold true for the last example: a list. In the case of a list of anything, even if it is the most important part of the sentence, I would always use a colon.

If the information you want to include is necessary, but mundane in nature, commas are the best choice. They will create less separation and therefore less emphasis. The idea is to pull the reader toward the part of the sentence that you want them to focus on.

Choosing the best mark for the situation can require thought, but taking that time to focus on your punctuation as much as your words will improve the flow and quality of your writing.

What’s your favorite punctuation mark? Leave it down in the comments.