I like the dash. It’s a friendly device -- comfortable and easy to use when nothing else seems appropriate. So I was thrilled to see Chip Scanlan’s centerpiece, “Deconstructing the dash,” an informative and humorous account of when, where and why to use the “handsome” piece of punctuation.
Here are three of Scanlan’s list of AP-style approved uses and examples taken from the AP Stylebook:
- Break in Thought or Abrupt Change.
On the worst possible day — what was I thinking of? — I hit the boss for a raise.
Smith offered a plan — it was unprecedented — to raise revenues.
- Appositives. Reserved for those times when adding a related phrase and "commas would be too feeble."
It was Attila — the most bloodthirsty among Hunnish leaders — whom they blamed for the destruction.
- Finale. To pump up the final word of a clause of a sentence.
She wanted to become a CEO — and she did.
Despite its broad range of uses, the jury is still out, says Scanlan, on whether the dash should be preferred to commas, separate sentences, or even to the semicolon. But commas are so ordinary and separate sentences are bulky. And the semicolon? Who likes the semicolon? I'll stick with the dash.
