Because an em dash is so dramatic, it should be limited to no more than two instances per sentence. As i understand correct punctuation a space is not used either before or after a double dash. The em dash, en dash, and hyphen are punctuation marks frequently. This explanation is not intended to be exhaustive for much more, see chapter 6 in cmos, but i do hope that it helps to frame the different potential of each length of dash. When using the hyphen, the en dash, or the em dash, mostbut not allstyle books advocate putting space neither before nor after them. You may sometimes see what looks like a fourdot ellipsis. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. This section briefly explains the role of style in matters of punctuation, and it compares the two major style guides in the united states. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. Worse yet, the different official writing styles ap vs.
Ap style does not use the serial comma, while chicago style does. One of the most common uses for a colon is introducing a list or series of items at the. Other style guides, such as the chicago manual of style cmos, use an en dash without spaces instead. That preference presumably dates from the leadtype era, when compositors didnt want to be bothered about trying to distinguish a from a. Alex in florida asked, should there be a space before and after a dash. Oxford comma quandary ruthless editor kathleen watson. Whats the difference between a hyphen, en dash, and em dash. To achieve these goals, the associated press stylebook is intentionally compact and direct, giving up comprehensiveness in exchange for brevity. With the arrival of the typewriter in the late 19th century, style guides for writers began diverging from printers manuals, indicating that writers. The associated press ap stylebook, which vela follows as its inhouse style guide, uses a hyphen with no spaces around it to indicate ranges jan. Why does word autoinsert an endash when it should insert. On a pc, it consists of two hyphens joined together.
We were eating dinner grandmas famous roast turkey when the tornado hit. Chicago, on the other hand, calls for three spaced periods with a space before and after. Some use the equivalent of three linked hyphens surrounded by a space on each side like this, and some omit the surrounding spaces likethis. In most software applications, two hyphens automatically change to an em dash when typed between two words, with no spaces between the hyphens or the words. Every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there. Ap styleinsert a single space both before and after the em dash. Every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there should be no spaces between an emdash and the adjacent words. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. While the ap stylebook admits that there is not necessarily a standard way to use them, and that most instances come own to personal style or taste, it does say the fewer hyphens the better.
This rule of thumb is easy to remember once you know it. When she called her cats chardonnay, patron and guinness the neighbors came running. Here at above the law, we prefer using a space before and after our em dashes its. There are, just to be contrary also situations where no space after or before is appropriate if not absolutely correct. Most newspapers and all that follow ap style insert a space before and. Do not space before or after dashes except in ap style. Producing the em dash many word processors will automatically insert an em dash when you type a pair of hyphens. If your computer cant convert, a hyphen may be used in place of an en dash, and a doublehyphen can be typed to represent an em dash, with no spaces before, after, or in between. Garners modern english usage recommends that you consider putting a letter space before and after an em dash. Andy was happy to hear the good news he had waited all week. Include spaces before and after em dashes like in this sentence. Ive never heard anyone say its the hyphen between the dates on our gravestone that matters.
Standard word spaces were about onethird of an em space, but sentences were to be divided by a full em space. The appropriateness of spaces before and after a dash depends on various considerations. While ive always used the dash without any space around it, many other people place a space before and after the dash. The hyphen dragoman follows the ap stylebook, so we use hyphens to indicate ranges or to clarify that we are using a compound modifier. Most newspapers and all that follow ap style insert a space before and after the em dash. The typical computer keyboard lacks a dedicated key for the en dash, though most word processors provide a means for its insertion. Theres a rogue slash style making the rounds, usually on resumes, for some reason. If youre writing for a newspaper, magazine, or website that uses associated press style, put in the spaces. When using the hyphen, the en dash, or the em dash, mostbut not allstyle books advocate. Hyphen, en dash or em dash which ones the right one to. For an ellipsis, ap calls for three periods, with a space before and after. The latter is provided to authors especially to guide the expression of government and scientific nomenclature.
Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Key terms and style northeastern university branding. For best results, buy the latest copy of the associated press stylebook, available at a modest cost at. Ap style guidelines for hyphen usage gatehouse newsroom. Ap recommends a space before and after, but chicago does not.
Is it wrong to type spaces before and after a dash. En dash, a dash the width of the proportional letter n the ap stylebook uses spaces before and after the en dash. Its a red flag that points to poor decisionmaking more than anything else. Jan 06, 2015 instead, ap style uses the en dash for this use, and puts one space before and after it. In marketing and advertising, ap style is the preferred style, along with a house style guide that may include a preference for the chicago style usage of all three marks. Jan 31, 2011 every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there should be no spaces between an em dash and the adjacent words. When material is omitted at the end of a paragraph and also immediately following it, an ellipsis goes both at the end of that paragraph and at the beginning of. Em dashes are especially common in informal writing, such as personal emails or blogs, but its best to use them sparingly when you are writing formally. Ap stylebook also differs from the chicago manual of style on em dashes. There is some disagreement about the way to employ the em dash. But when youre quoting someone verbatim, you nod to their word and punctuation use. Sentence spacing in language and style guides wikipedia. Associated press style in a nutshell civil air patrol.
Dec 23, 2011 we usually dont agree with those ap stylebook heathens, but em dash spacing really is a style issue. It had to be easy for reporters and editors to use and also produce stories that are clear and concise. The em dash shouldnt be used in very many sentences in an article, or it loses its intensity. Associated press style basics journalists resource. When she called her cats chardonnay, patron and guinness. This is the basic difference in how em dashes are rendered in ap style and chicago style. For example, chicago style dictates that you must not have spaces before and after the em dash, while ap style dictates that you should have spaces before and after, except when used to introduce items in a vertical list. Use an en dash named because it is the width of the letter n between ranges of numbers or dates and between adjectival phrases containing twoword concepts. Sybrand loved three things soccer, jazz, and living forever he unfortunately couldnt. The ap stylebook does not mince its words when ruling on the importance of punctuation. This is the basic difference in how ellipses are rendered in ap style and chicago style.
Hyphens, em dashes, en dasheseverything you need to know. Please consult your favorite grammar book or blog for notes on usage. Upon discovering the errors all 124 of them, the publisher immediately recalled the books. In lists of three or more items, do not use a comma before the conjunction.
Whether youre eating shoots and leaving or just a little confused as to if the comma is always placed within quotation marks in a sentence, you. Did you see that they snuck those spaces into their own quote. Clean, functional, and beautifulall are features in a good hotel room. Aug 22, 2019 to make this popular style easier to understand and use, weve delved into tricky issues like ap style numbers in previous blogs. If you are not using a style guide, my advice would be for the spaces. Top 5 tips to edit and write in chicago or ap style proedit. Em dasheswhy writers should use them more sparingly. The en dash is slightly wider than the hyphen but narrower than the em dash.
One exception is, of course, when the hyphen is used as a minus sign. Ap style insert a single space both before and after the em dash. Some style guides use a space before and after an em dash such as this and others prefer no space such as this. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Chicago specifically states that there should be no space between the final ellipsis and the quotation mark. Its also important to note that the associated press stylebook ap says not to use the asterisk in journalism writing because the symbol may not be seen by ap computers or received by newspapers. One pet peeve is the improper use of double dashes such as this example where there is a space intervening. The associated press style always the outlier insists on spacing both before and after the em dash. If you put spaces before or after, it will change it to an em dash. Most style guides do this, but if you are old fashioned or a diehard apa user, you may need a reminder about the single space rule. Other manualssuch as the associated press stylebook, the mla handbook, and chicagos venerable student guide, turabianallow most situations to be handled by the everyday hyphen and the basic em dash. I also notice that double dashes are often used in fiction, and in my opinion often to good purpose.
How to use an asterisk grammar girl quick and dirty tips. I read on a grammar blog recently that the em dash is named after its. So named because the letter m in early fonts was usually cast on a square body. Most favorite and least favorite punctuationand why. Ap style doesnt specify, but it just looks wrong with a space, so i think it would be safer to leave out the space between the final ellipsis and the quotation mark. Hours of operation do not place a space before or after a dash. The en dash is used to represent a span or range of numbers, dates, or time. In typographical terms, the em dash is a unit of measurement exactly as wide and high as the point size being set. Though the em dash typically has the same usage, one tricky issue is the spacing that accompanies them. According to the ap stylebook, which is used by most journalistic publications and by bka for our seo content, you should treat an ellipsis as a threeletter word consisting of three periods with no spaces in between. When using the em dash, ap style says you should use a space before and after, although, most editors prefer the no space approach. Note that while ap style uses abbreviations for months sept. Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series.
Aps stylebook actually calls for the use of a space before and after those em dashes. Historical style guides before the 20th century typically indicated that wider spaces were to be used between sentences. Instead, ap style uses the en dash for this use, and puts one space before and after it. In byline dateline it is often the case that the byline receives no space but the em dash takes one before the dateline. Jan 04, 2018 this was usually accomplished by adding a thin space before and after the em dash itselfbut sometimes, if the em dash in the face being used was one fo the extra long ones, id just use an em dash from a face with a shorter onethank goodness for search and replace. The stylebook indicates that if the shortened sentence before the mark can stand as a sentence, it should do so, with an ellipsis placed after the period or other ending punctuation. Also, the em dash may serve as a sort of bullet point, as in this todo list.
Click here if youd like to freshen up on some more ap style rules. It is used to interrupt a sentence or to emphasize a phrase. One issue i saw discussed but not resolved was that of putting a space before and after en and em dashes. May 07, 2009 the associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. For example, if a b comes before the dash or a 6 comes after, the dash looks like its actually touching the character unless you zoom way in. If you have questions, comments or suggestions about how to use ellipses according to ap style, please send them along. Ive noticed that en dashes and em dashes run into certain numbers and letters, and i dont believe its standard to use spaces with these. Associated press style for the em dash uses a space on either side to set it off. Richards first boata 10foot sailboatfueled his lifelong interest in being at sea. In text, we use en dashes hyphens rather than parentheses to separate telephone numbers. For article manuscripts per the associated press stylebook, do not use the en dash. In the mla handbook, we show no space before and after dashes because thats the standard format used by publishers in the united states.
The em dash is typically used without spaces on either side, and that is the style used in this guide. Note that there is no space added on either side of an em dash. The chicago manual of style and the associated press stylebook. If you are uncertain how to insert an en dash symbol, you can use a hyphen instead. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. I have outlined three uses for the three dots, but the key point is that ellipses should be used sparingly in formal writing. When a modifier that would be hyphenated before a noun occurs after the noun, but in a form of the verb to. How to use ellipses according to ap style bka content. The em dash has a specific grammatical use to separate thoughts, much as parentheses do but theres a creeping popular insurrection afoot against its use. To create an em dash on an apple computer, hold down the option and shift while striking the hyphen. Should you be using a space before and after an em dash.
The manuscript narrative must employ formal, scholarly style as defined by the chicago manual of style, supplemented by this style guide. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Aug 22, 2017 after putting peanut butter on the bread, he realized a hard truth he was out of jelly. Lets clear up the confusion surrounding the use of hyphen, en dash and em dash. Use all, these, or they followed by a verb to complete the clause. Also note that while grammar rules suggest that em dashes do not take spaces. Garners modern english usage recommends that you consider putting a letter space before and after an emdash. Begin the new yearyour best one yetwith positive, fresh energy. Use a space before and after the em dash if you follow the associated press stylebook. Publications make varying style choices when it comes to rendering the em dash. Today, well look at another frequently misunderstood topic. According to the punctuation guide, most newspapers and all that follow ap style insert a space before and after the em dash. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science.
Em dashes may be used for appositives and parentheticals as appropriate, but please be judicious. An em dash, like an ellipsis, has a space before and after, except when used to introduce items in a vertical list. An em dash, like an ellipsis, has a space before and after, except. Spaces should only be inserted before or after the ellipsis as necessary to separate it from other words. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. In ap style, always put a space before and after an em dash. Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence, the results of which could be farreaching. For those who dislike the tight spacing of em dashes, feel free to kern open small spaces on each side. Most newspapers, however, set the em dash off with a single space on each side. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Every style guide i checked, except the ap stylebook, stated there should be no. Style manuals differ on whether to use spaces before and after em dashes the dashing mark. Do not space before or after hyphens and en dashes.