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In the most recent CPB newsletter, we answered an awesome question from a returning adult student regarding grammar and style refreshers. We recommended The Elements of Style, which provides the nuts and bolts of grammar and style in a clear and concise format. In addition to thinking about some of our favorite grammar books (and how cool we must be to have favorites within this genre—ha!), we also began thinking about some of the common writing issues that seem to plague college writers. Therefore, we’ve decided to create a “Grammar & Style” series of blog entries that will address a specific writing issue. As this is the inaugural Grammar & Style entry, we hope you enjoy it and find it helpful!

Em Dashes

The em dash is by far the coolest punctuation mark out there. An em dash (—) can be inserted from the Insert toolbar section in Word, or you can type two hyphens immediately after the last letter of a word, and then immediately follow the second hyphen with the first letter of the next word, which will prompt the document to create an em dash. Here are a few of the most common uses for the em dash:

• To create emphasis. Insert the em dash when you want the reader to take a dramatic pause or to create a slight sense of anticipation. For example: I knew who stole the keg from the party—it was the professor!

• To set off a key idea within a sentence. Separate a key idea from the other elements of a sentence by setting it between two em dashes. For example: The tailgate party—which included 250 simultaneous games of bags—raised a ton of money for the fraternity.

• To set off a short series or to add clarifying information. Set off a short series or information that is meant to add clarification between two em dashes. For example: The college student’s roommates—Emily, Andy, and Kota—trashed her room while she was at the library studying.