Thursday, April 4, 2013

The DASH


(Originally posted in 2011)

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"A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses" (The Elements of Style, pg 9).

Any questions?

No? ... Glad I could clear that up for you. Back to blog hopping!

13 comments:

  1. That's very handy -- for a reference! Thank you!

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  2. I love dashes almost as much as I love semi-colons. That is to say, a lot. :D But I had a middle school teacher who forbade me to use dashes in my academic writing because, she said, "most people don't know how to use dashes correctly". I was both offended and delighted-- offended that I had to remove all my beloved dashes, but delighted that at age 13, I already knew how to use an item of punctuation that eludes "most people". Of course, I now know that she was wrong... sigh...

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  3. Next lesson...ellipsis! :)

    Christi Corbett

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  4. I never know what I am going to use sometimes. I just throw things around and then never know if they are right or not. This will help out for future reference. Thanks for the post!

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  5. Okay - I think you guys must be WAY smarter than me... because I posted that quote in a sarcastic voice (maybe I need to work on *that*). I found this quote NOT very helpful. Guess I need to go re-read those pages, again.

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  6. Thanks for this explanation. I read your previous posts too and know that I have to watch out for my BUTS.

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  7. I've definitely started using the dash in my writing more frequently, but there were years and years when I didn't realize how effective it is.

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  8. I love dashes! Emdashes, endashes...they're good tools in a writer's chest.

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  9. "Reading, writing and eating" Love it, I share your passion. Add traveling to that. I am posting "Eating" tomorrow. Interesting blog - looking forward to the rest of your A - Zs'!

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  10. Thanks for explaining. I'll probably keep using everything incorrectly!

    Thanks for the follow!

    Mary Montague Sikes

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  11. But just wait until you use an en dash when your editor wants em dashes....gotta learn that too.

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  12. I love to use dashes. Thanks for the heads up and am looking forward to tomorrow's read.
    Hugs,
    Kathy

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  13. A dash here in there is just the ticket. I had a boss once who used the dash all the time. He would get very upset if I substituted a comma or colon for his beloved dash.

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