by Bobbie Christmas
In recognition of Punctuation Day on September 24, I pulled some of the questions people asked me about punctuation. I based all my answers on Chicago style, the style that most book publishers follow, and Chicago style often differs from the styles we see in periodicals or on the internet.
Q: I keep hearing about em dashes and en dashes. I’m new to all this. What are they, and how can I find them on my keyboard?
A: Alas, you won’t find them on your keyboard, but your keyboard can produce them for you, as you’ll see. Here are the rules for en dashes and em dashes and how to create them:
Use em dashes (—) to denote an abrupt change in thought or an emphatic pause. We will fly to Paris in June—if I get a raise. An em dash is longer than an en dash, which is longer than a hyphen. I’ll explain en dashes later.
A hyphen is not an em dash; however, in Word on most computers, if you type two hyphens in a row followed immediately by a letter or whole word, the computer will automatically change the two hyphens into an em dash. You can also use two hyphens to indicate a dash. I want to tell you–emphatically–you are brilliant. In Microsoft Word, you can also go to Insert, then Symbol, then Special Characters, and choose Em Dash and Insert. Whether using the true em dash or two hyphens, be consistent; don’t use a dash in one place and two hyphens in another.
Do not space before or after an en dash.
An en dash (–) is a typographical symbol that indicates a range. It is a little longer than a hyphen (-) but shorter than an em dash (—). Use an en dash rather than a hyphen to mean through, such as in a page range (pages 4–7) or a date range. (April 7–19). The use of en dashes this way applies to lists and citations, but not narrative. In narrative it’s always better to use words rather than symbols or special characters. (pages four through seven) (April 7 to April 19).
To find the en dash in most Word programs, go to Insert and then Symbol, and then Special Characters. Most computers using Word may also automatically change a hyphen to an en dash if you hit the space bar, type a hyphen, and hit the space bar again, but you’ll need to remove both spaces afterward.
Q: I was taught to use a comma after an introductory phrase, but my editor takes out many of them. What gives with that?
A: Chicago style says a comma is not required after a short introductory phrase—about five words or fewer—unless one is necessary for clarity. For example no comma is required after “For example.”
Q: What’s wrong with exclamation marks? When you edited my manuscript you took out dozens of them and replaced them with periods. I am certainly confused!
A: Exclamation marks belong only in short exclamatory sentences, which often begin with how, what, why, or are short bursts of words. Examples: What a beautiful sunset! How embarrassing! Oh! Damn!
Strong writing does not use exclamation marks to show surprise. If the words themselves don’t convey passion, exclamation marks won’t help. William Styron (author of Sophie’s Choice) said it well: “Every writer should be given just one exclamation mark per career.”
When exclamation marks are used to indicate surprise or humor, they become repetitious and indicate a low-level form of writing called schoolgirl style. Schoolgirl style, a casual, playful style of writing that is fine in emails, text messages, and personal letters, is not recommended in novels or nonfiction books.
Q: Why did my editor remove more than half my semicolons?
A: Without looking at the actual manuscript, I’d guess the editor had one of two reasons for doing so. Either the sentences were too long or the semicolons were used incorrectly.
Long sentences reduce the comprehension of the material. For that reason it’s best to keep most sentences at ten words or fewer.
Correctly used, semicolons can be used to do the following:
- Indicate a greater separation of thought and information than a comma conveys but less than the separation that a period implies. He hid the body; otherwise he would have been the first person the police suspected.
- Clarify a series or separate elements of a series when individual segments contain material set off by commas. Mary packed lunch with two apples, one for each child; three sandwiches, one ham, one chicken, and one vegetarian for herself; and a six-pack of beer, which she would keep for herself.
Note that the semicolon is used before the final and in such a series.
- Link independent clauses when a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or for is not present. Four tables filled the room; one table was empty.
Unless a particular literary effect is desired, the better approach in many circumstances is to break independent clauses into separate sentences, to avoid long sentences and/or overuse of semicolons.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more Ask the Book Doctor questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
