how to use a dash

click the minus sign twice

--

do not space before or after it

this is called an em dash

• it signifies and extra long pause
• it is part of a writer's unique style
• sometimes writers put it before and after a phrase that interrupts the original thought since readers read straight through it
• use em dashes instead of parenthesis because readers tend to skip over what's inside parenthesis

how to use a hyphen

click the minus sign once

-

when to use a hyphen

when explaining to go through two sections & do what's between them as well

• read pages 8-12 (means to read starting and page 8 and on through to page 12)
• do parts A-G (meaning do A, B, C, D, E, F, G)
• last names J-Z attend the meeting
• 15-20 people attended
• provide 3-5 pencils
• years 2012-16 (meaning the years of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016)

when forming some compound words

• a one-way street
• high-speed Internet
• self-edit
• when creating a compound adjective: blue-eyed boy, state-of-the-art design, finely-tuned system

when splitting compound words on a line

• when handwriting and running out of room, split at the syllable mark and put a hyphen at the end of the line and at the start of the next line
• computers automatically take care of this when typing it, so that's why this skill is often not taught anymore
• Pretend the sentences below were written on a narrow slips of paper. This is how hyphens would be used to split up the words because they carried over onto two lines.

Example 1:

The boy used his bi-

-cycle to get away from the creeps.

Example 2:

Mary made a lot of food for the pic-

-nic because she had no idea how many

would be attending it.

Now, if you become a professional writer, editors & publishers will expect you to be able to distinguish between the following:

em dash

en dash

hyphen

But for now, it's okay if you follow the rules set forth above.

And if you become published, I want to know!