How To Improve Your Writing: Em Dashes And Ellipses

Editing, whether it is for an academic journal

, a short story submission, or a non-fiction manuscript for publishing, always follows the basic rules of grammar and punctuation. This article will help you learn the basic rules of using both the em dashes and ellipses, and how to use them accurately in your work. While this article will assist fiction writers most often, this is a useful skill to have in your writing arsenal.

Did you know there is an en dash AND an em dash? Well, there is and we are going to cover the em dash this week.

The em dash

The em dash is a longer dash that is similar to a hyphen. It is used to show a pause in a quote that is all one sentence, and it is also used to show when one sentence trails off and another begins.

For example,

"I hope that you have told me the truth - you don't always." This quote is all one sentence, but there was a pause in between the words truth and you that are represented by the em dash.

OR

"He just walked right in through the - He didn't even think to excuse himself!" This shows that one sentence trailed off and another began - NOTE the capital letter to begin the second sentence.

When typing in Microsoft Word, you can prompt one of these dashes by placing a space after the last letter of the word, hitting the hyphen key (next to the zero) and then pressing your spacebar again before typing the next word. Most Microsoft Word applications use an auto format that will insert the em dash for you.

Ellipses

In contrast, the ellipsis is used to show when a thought trails off and the sentence is incomplete. It is a series of three dots.

For example,

"I just couldn't believe what he was..." she muttered, as if to herself.

These quotation marks most often trip up fiction writers, as they're used often in dialogue. However, whether you are writing a fiction piece, or working on an academic submission, please remember that a professional editor will always assist you with your work.

Tune in again next week when we explore the en dash and the differences between both the en dash and the em dash. Both are highly used and when used right will ensure your document is well polished.

by: Heather Todd

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