Can you use a dash in APA?

APA Style recommends specific uses for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. Or, em dashes may set off a phrase midsentence—a technique that really draws a reader's attention—as they do in this sentence. The text between the dashes is typically a digression or outright interruption of the main idea of the sentence.

Beside this, how do I use a dash in writing?

A dash is a horizontal line that shows a pause or break in meaning, or that represents missing words or letters. Note that dashes are rather informal and should be used carefully in writing. Dashes are often used informally instead of commas, colons and brackets. A dash may or may not have a space on either side of it.

Additionally, when can I use a dash? The em dash can be used in place of a colon when you want to emphasize the conclusion of your sentence. The dash is less formal than the colon. After months of deliberation, the jurors reached a unanimous verdict?—guilty. The white sand, the warm water, the sparkling sun?—this is what brought them to Fiji.

In this way, how do you use a dash and hyphen?

A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is different. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side.

What is the difference between slash and dash?

As verbs the difference between slash and dash is that slash is to cut violently across something with a blade such as knife, sword, scythe, etc while dash is to run quickly or for a short distance.

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What is a dash example?

Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences: Examples: You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me.

What is a dash symbol?

Alternatively known as a dash, subtract, negative, or minus sign, the hyphen ( - ) is a punctuation mark on the underscore key next to the "0" key on US keyboards. Pictured is an example of the hyphen and underscore key on top of the keyboard.

What is a dash of bitters?

When added to cocktails, bitters are measured in "dashes," and typically, a dash of bitters is 6-8 drops or 1/8th of a teaspoon. If you're looking for a more precise method of adding bitters to your cocktails, you can choose instead to use a glass bottle with a dropper.

What is dash in a sentence?

The dash (—) is a mark of punctuation used to set off a word or phrase after an independent clause or a parenthetical remark (words, phrases, or clauses that interrupt a sentence). Don't confuse the dash (—) with the hyphen (-): the dash is longer.

How much is a dash?

Measured out in drops, using a precise, milliliter-dropper like the ones used to dispense medicine, a dash is about 10 single drops. Measured out in teaspoons, a dash would be 1/5 teaspoon, or as I discovered in my kitchen, between 1/8th teaspoon and 1/4 teaspoon.

Can you use dashes in formal writing?

Use an em dash sparingly in formal writing. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Examples: A semicolon would be used here in formal writing.

How do you use commas?

Use a comma before any coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) that links two independent clauses. You may need to learn a few grammatical terms to understand this one.

Are semicolons used for lists?

Semicolons to Separate List Items. Items in lists are usually separated with commas (as in the first example below). However, if the list items themselves contain commas, then semicolons can be used as separators to outrank those commas.

Where is em dash keyboard?

Hold down one of the Alt keys and type on the numeric keypad: 0150 for an en dash or 0151 for an em dash. The dash appears when you release the Alt key. On a keyboard with no numeric keypad, use a Fn (Function) key combination to type the numbers.

Who vs whom vs that?

Use "who" when you refer to the subject of a clause and "whom" when you refer to the object of a clause (for information regarding subjects versus objects, please refer to Sentence Elements). To whom are you speaking? ("You" is the subject; "whom" is the object"; "speaking" is the verb)

What is the rule for using a semicolon?

Rules for Using Semicolons

A semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought. When a semicolon is used to join two or more ideas (parts) in a sentence, those ideas are then given equal position or rank.

Do you capitalize after a semicolon?

The two main clauses that the semicolon joins should be closely related in meaning. Don't capitalize the word that follows the semicolon unless that word is a proper noun, one that is always capitalized. Limit your use of semicolons; you should not scatter them wantonly throughout your writing.

How do you use a colon and semicolon?

Colons (:) are used in sentences to show that something is following, like a quotation, example, or list. Semicolons (;) are used to join two independent clauses, or two complete thoughts that could stand alone as complete sentences.

How do I insert an em dash in Word?

There are three ways you can do this:

Press Ctrl+Alt+Minus (on the numeric keypad)
Hold down the Alt key as you type 0151 on the numeric keypad.
Choose Symbol from the Insert menu, and then select Em Dash from the Special Characters tab.

How do you type an em dash on a Mac?

To type an em dash, hold down the Shift and Option keys and press the Minus key. Alternatively, press the Hyphen key twice and press Space.

What is a colon used for?

The colon is used to separate two independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first. In such usage, the colon functions in much the same way as the semicolon. When two or more sentences follow a colon, capitalize the first word following the colon.

What does a forward slash look like?

A good way to remember the difference between a backslash and a forward slash is that a backslash leans backwards ( ), while a forward slash leans forward ( / ). Forward slashes can also be called simply "slashes," since they are much more commonly used than backslashes.