In Writing, Are You Confused with eM Dashes, eN Dashes and Hyphens?

Writing Smarts: Avoid hyphen, eM dash and eN dash Confusion

The use of dashes is inconsistent in lots of writing—regardless if the writer is a newbie or veteran in the publishing ranks.

The hyphen, eM dash and eN dash crop-up while you’re using Microsoft Word. Most don’t know why it’s recommended. What happens, though, is that the use is inconsistent. And a “What the heck is going on …” interrupts your editing or writing.

What’s the visual difference between the eM dash and eN dash

For basics, the eM dash is as wide as the uppercase letter M. The eN dash is about as wide as the uppercase letter N.

An eM dash (—) is typically used as a stand-in for a comma or parentheses to separate out phrases—or even just a word—in a sentence for various reasons. For me, it adds drama and pop to a sentence when appropriate. It adds extra information. Depending on the style guide you follow, such as AP or Chicago, it can be used with or without spaces on either side. I prefer no spacing.

- - To replace parentheses: Three of my best friends—Susan, Sam, and Martha—came to the party.
    School is based on the three R’s—reading, writing, and ’arithmetic.
  - To replace a colon: Against all odds, Martha—the unluckiest woman in love—discovered the love of her life.
    She had only one goal—to get the job and the title.
  - For a sudden interruption: I was going to buy this gorgeous car—but then I saw the price.
    I sense something—a feeling I’ve not felt before.

An eN-dash is used to connect values in a range or that are related. A good rule is to use it when you’re expressing a “to” or “through” relationship. It is primarily used to show ranges in numbers, dates, or times with no spacing.

- - Number and date ranges: 4:00–6 PM | pages 19–23 | years 2001–2010
  - Scores and results: The Denver Broncos trounced the Seattle Seahawks 43–8.

A hyphen separates syllables of a word, like during a line break.

- - pro-America
  - caged-free eggs
  - self-publishing

TIP: you can create both the eM-dash or eN-dash quickly in Microsoft Word

Keyboard Shortcuts

Em Dash (—):

- - Windows: Alt + 0151 (using the numeric keypad) or Windows Key + . (period) to open the symbol menu.
  - Mac: Shift + Option + – (hyphen). En Dash (–)
    - Windows: Alt + 0150 (using the numeric keypad)
    - Mac: Option + – (hyphen)

Before all the shortcuts were created, this is how I made them for my articles, blogs, and manuscripts:

en-dash:
Automatically created in Word when you type “word” space hyphen space “word” (word-space-hyphen-space-word) … word then pulls it all together.

em-dash:
Automatically created in Word when you type any “word” followed by no spaces, two hyphens, another “word” … as soon as the space bar is hit after the last word, everything comes together (word-hyphen-hyphen-word).

P.S. Today’s reader wants to do it fast in most cases. As, short chapters are preferred. Adding visual variations that dashes and ellipses—along with callouts and pullout—bring to your text gives the eyes a smidge of a rest from line after line of text.

Dr. Judith Briles is the award-winning and bestselling author of 49 books and calls Colorado home. When she’s not in the kitchen or in the garden, she’s working with clients as The Book Shepherd, a book and publishing consulting and project management firm that works with authors at all stages of their book to create and publish a book they never regret! She’s the founder of the first Authors’ Hall of Fame exclusively dedicated to ensuring the legacy of authors connected in some way with Colorado. She’s also the Director of San Francisco chapter of the Women’s National Book Association.

Judith’s books have been translated into 17 countries with over 1,000,000 copies sold! They have been featured in over 2,000 radio and TV shows including repeat appearances on CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. She has worked with over 1,500 authors and created 500 plus bestsellers. Print publications include Newsweek, People, Time, The Wall Street Journal and … The National Enquirer! Her popular podcast, AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing is dedicated to authors and writers and their success and is ranked in the top ten in four categories on GoodPods.