How to Become a Better Writer: A Wattpad Guide

DASHES: Using Proper Grammar

Let's discuss dashes in detail for those of you wondering when and how to use them.

En Dash

The en dash (–), about the width of an n, is used in the place of (to) to indicate timespan (periods of time).

For example:

From 1914–1925, the town...
November–January

It is also used in place of a hyphen to combine open compounds.

For example:

Louisiana–Texas border
a graduate–undergraduate program

Em Dash

The em dash (—), the width of an m, is used to offset another thought or an aside (also referred to as parenthetical elements) either by placing that content within a set of em dashes or after a single em dash.

As defined:
"In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought."

For example:

I went to bakery—I really had a sweet tooth today—and bought a half dozen eclairs.

In the example, the phrase inside the em dashes serves as interruption related to the main thought. Now, some will argue that you should use these sparingly. In fact, it's been argued that placing the em dash all over the place is just a lazy replacement for actual writing, not to mention a bit distracting and overused. I'm not here to argue its usage one way or the other, only that I tend to use them as a preferred technique, and I'll leave it at that.

References:

For more grammar help and aids, be sure to check out: http://www.grammarbook.com/