- Identify when to use periods, question marks, and exclamation points
- Identify when to use hyphens and dashes
- Correctly use parentheses
- Correctly use brackets
- Correctly use ellipses
Choosing the Right Dash for the Job
Let’s be honest—hyphens and dashes can be confusing. One’s short, one’s medium, one’s long… and they all look kind of similar on the screen. But even though hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes might seem like tiny details, they each have their own job in a sentence—and knowing how to use them correctly can make your writing clearer, more polished, and more professional.
- Hyphens are used in compound words or modifiers
- En dashes are used to show ranges or relationships
- Em dashes are used to indicate breaks, emphasis, or interruptions
Let’s practice how to use each of these in your writing.
Each sentence below is missing either a hyphen, an en dash, or an em dash. Use the dropdown to select the correct punctuation from the options provided:
Whether you’re linking words, showing a range, or adding emphasis, knowing whether to use a hyphen or a dash (and when) helps your ideas come across exactly the way you mean them. Keep practicing, and soon these little lines won’t feel so tricky after all!