Colons are similar to dashes, just with a little more oomph: They set off an idea from a main sentence, but they suggest a greater emphasis. This can be a single word, as in this Associated Press ...

When it comes to proper punctuation, choosing between an exclamation point and a question mark is child’s play.The semicolon-vs.-colon decision is a bit tougher to make. But even that can’t ...

Many people don't know there are different kinds of dashes. They often call a hyphen a dash — which, to an editor, is like calling a period a colon. In fact, there are an unnerving assortment of ...

This question: punctuation: colons and semi-colons, dashes and brackets This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.

The dash is the Kim Kardashian of punctuation marks: misplaced, over-exposed, shamelessly self-promoting, always eager to elbow out her jealous sisters the comma, colon, and semicolon.

The em dash (—) is a supremely useful (and fashionable) piece of punctuation used in writing and editing, often in place of a comma, colon, or parenthesis. While you might want to utilize it to ...

The em dash has long been a favorite punctuation mark of writers everywhere. This lengthier dash can replace a comma or a colon. It’s also sometimes used to sum up info at the end of the ...

The longest of the dashes – roughly the length of the letter “M” – the em dash is emphatic, agile and still largely undefined. Sometimes it indicates an afterthought. Other times, it’s a ...