Dashes are another detour sign of writing, but with a
slightly different purpose. Dashes can be compared to spotlights; they draw
attention to extra, unnecessary information within or after them. A dash is a long
horizontal line, whereas a hyphen is a short horizontal line.
Use dashes to signify the beginning and end of extra information
you want to draw attention to.
For example:
Emma—who had never been skating
before—was very eager to try on her skates.
Emma was very eager to try on her
skates—she had never been skating before.
In these examples, the dashes are used to separate extra
information from the sentence. They are used to emphasize the fact that Emma
had never been skating before.
Many people get confused with hyphens and dashes, since a
dash is only a little longer than a hyphen. When writing, be careful about not
mistaking a hyphen for a dash, or the other way around. Also, remember the uses
for both of them. A hyphen is used to join words, while a dash is used to add extra
information.