In Defense of the Em Dash
The em dash isn’t new. Yet somehow, it still ends up misunderstood, so please read!
I didn’t know what an em dash was until I was in college. I was an English major, and I learned about em dashes in a poetry class that focused exclusively on the works E.E. Cummings (good poetry is riddled with well-used em dashes).
But if you didn’t study English in college, you probably never had a good reason to learn the difference. Advanced punctuation usage isn’t usually something taught in regular high school English classes anymore (it is usually taught in AP classes, though), and even if it was taught in your high school, you probably tuned out because let’s be honest—punctuation is the least sexy part of English class.
No worries, though! Here’s everything you need to know about how to use an em dash, why an em dash isn’t the same as a hyphen, and why it’s actually a sign of good writing.
First: What is an em dash?
The em dash (—) is roughly the width of the letter M, hence the name. It’s used to create emphasis, interruption, or a visual pause in a sentence (very poetic).
It’s not the same as a hyphen (-), which links words together (client-ready, SEO-driven). It’s also not an en dash (–), which is mostly used for numeric ranges (January–March, pages 42–47). When used correctly, the em dash actually makes your writing stronger!
But can’t I just use a hyphen (often referred to as “the short dash?”)
No. A hyphen is not a substitute for an em dash. Using a hyphen in its place is grammatically incorrect (at least, it’s incorrect according to the prescriptivists of the English language).
So why do most people use a hyphen if it’s incorrect? My guess is that, first and foremost, not everyone knows how an em dash is made. If you’re unsure how to type one:
On Mac: Option + Shift + Hyphen
On any device: simply type two hyphens in Word or Google Docs—many systems will auto-correct for you.
“The em dash is the most beautiful punctuation mark, all the more because it is rare — and it is best kept that way. Certainly a sentence with more than two is imparsible. In fact, more than a few in a whole article is probably getting annoying. It’s like the exclamation point in that way.”
Yes, AI tools use the em dash. They use periods and commas, too.
The best AI writing models are trained on the best writing, and good writing uses the em dash.
Authors in the Western canon like Emily Dickinson, E.E. Cummings, Zora Neale Hurston, and F. Scott Fitzgerald used em dashes to control pacing, signal tone, and let emphasis land. The em dash creates a pause with intention and gives us the control to guide that experience.
Check out some examples of the em dash in literature here.
It’s no different than using a period to end a sentence or a comma to separate clauses. It’s standard practice for a reason.
Writing well is not a sign of using AI—unless you’re known to be a poor writer, in which case, good writing could be a giveaway that you had help. But who cares? Unless you’re a professional writer, then using ghostwriters and AI are just part of being an efficient business owner/professional.
So yes, we’ll keep using the em dash, and you should, too!
