If you follow any writers or editors on social media, you’ve likely seen plenty of posts about dashes over the last year. Most fall into one of two categories: People calling the em dash a red flag of AI-generated writing, and people passionately defending their use of the em dash, insisting they won’t be bullied into avoiding it.

We may never find resolution on the great em dash-AI debacle, but there’s one thing we can do: Create and use our dashes correctly. Here’s a handy guide to the two types of dashes — the em and the en — and the impostor that’s not a dash at all: the hyphen.

Em Dash

The em dash gets its name because it’s about as wide as the letter “M.” When writing in U.S. English, use an em dash to indicate a break in thought — like this. You can use one or two em dashes in a single sentence, but more than two is overkill. 

Notice my em dash has a space before and after. That’s Associated Press (AP) style (subscription required), which Dragonfly Editorial’s house style is based on. Most other style guides, such as The Chicago Manual of Style (subscription required) and The American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual, exclude those spaces.

Here’s how to create an em dash:

• On a Mac keyboard, press shift+option+hyphen.
• On a Windows keyboard with a number pad, press ALT+0151.
• On most mobile devices and tablets, hold down the hyphen key and select the em dash from the pop-up menu.
• In Microsoft Word, type a word, type two hyphens, type a word, and then press the space bar.
• In Google Docs, type three hyphens.
• Visit Get an Emdash — a site with a single purpose — and click the convenient button.

En Dash

An en dash is about as wide as the letter “N.” When writing in British English, use a spaced en dash to indicate a break in thought – like this. When an en dash is used this way, it always gets spaces. Just like with an em dash, you can use one or two en dashes – but please not three – per sentence.

In the U.S., some style guides, such as Chicago and APA, tell you to use an en dash in ranges and sports scores: The art fair took place August 3–5. Paula will order 10–12 cheesecakes for the party. The Biloxi Shuckers beat the Montgomery Biscuits, 2–0. In these cases, as you can see, there are no spaces around the en dash.

Then there’s my favorite use of the en dash. In Chicago and APA style (but not AP), when you have an open compound word, such as “Los Angeles,” “ice cream,” or “high school,” use an en dash to connect it to another word or a prefix: Los Angeles–based office, ice cream–themed decorations, post–high school education. Yes, those are en dashes, not hyphens.

Here’s how to create an en dash:

• On a Mac keyboard, press option+hyphen.
• On a Windows keyboard with a number pad, press ALT+0150.
• On most mobile devices and tablets, hold down the hyphen key and select the en dash from the pop-up menu.
• In Microsoft Word, type a word, type space-hyphen-space, type a word, and then press the space bar. Or, if you have a number pad, press control+minus sign.
• In Google Docs, type two hyphens.

Hyphen

A hyphen is about as wide as, well, a hyphen. There are many uses for hyphens.

You can use a hyphen to join simple compound modifiers (Sheboygan-based, dog-themed). You can use a hyphen to connect some prefixes (co-worker, anti-cat, post-workout) and suffixes (Toledo-wide, sugar-free). You can use a hyphen if you’re spelling out numbers (thirty-seven).

If you’re using AP style, you would use hyphens in ranges, sports scores, and complex compound modifiers, where Chicago and APA call for en dashes. (AP doesn’t use en dashes.)

Finally, of course, you should use a hyphen when writing about Spider-Man.

Here’s how to create a hyphen: Type a hyphen.

Anything To Add?

Does this post cover all possible uses of dashes? Of course not. Does it cover all possible ways to create dashes? No way. If you think I’ve forgotten something important or just want to tell me your thoughts on dashes, email me at dave@dragonflyeditorial.com.