teaching style: the art of the em dash.

My writers struggle when threy receive feedback to “be more sophisticated” or “elevate your level of sophistication.” So, a few years ago, I began rethinking my approach to writing instruction—for my English classes and my Creative Writing ones. I decided to break Sophisticated Writing into the sophisticated Writing Moves that exist within sophisticated writing. And through mentor texts, teacher-created examples, and practice, students are now exposed to—and practice—these individual Writing Moves. The final step is to infuse them into an upcoming writing assignment (e.g., Writer’s Notebook entry, blog post, essay, quick-write).

Enter the Em Dash.

In addition to being fun to say (You just said “em dash,” didn’t you?), students love themselves a good em dash or two. 

As with any Writing Move, I first caution my students to tread lightly. Some view em dashes as only belonging in informal writing. (“Why didn’t you just use the standard comma there?”) But stylizing our writing means that we absolutely know we could use, say, a set of commas but opt for the em dash instead. Because. We. Can.

But there’s some controversy surrounding the em dash. It’s up there with its troublemaker-of-a-cousin: the Oxford Comma. Which you’ll have to pry from Teacher-Lady’s dead, cold hands. The New York Times—considered by many to be the Golden Writing Standard—uses them. So, there’s that. (Speaking of the NYT, they playfully weighed in on the topic. While, of course, using lots o’ em dashes.)

Students aren’t entirely sure when—or how—to use them. (And yes, I intentionally just used a pair o’ them in that sentence.) 

My writers and I talk about the function of the em dash, including five pausing occasions where the device just works, and then peruse several examples. The final step is letting my writers loose to craft some of their own.

Take a look at some of their fantabulous examples below.

Enjoy!

OPPORTUNITY #1: as a LEAD UP

MY EXAMPLE
After a 10-month Meal of teaching, educators savor their long-awaited Dessert—July & August.

STUDENT EXAMPLES

• As I was leaving, I knew what this was—Goodbye Forever.
• The tension between the three boys was almost deafening—until the first punch was thrown. 
• After a long, hard race around the track, it was finally her time—she had won.
• After the trying test, she stood from her seat, walked to the front of the room, and turned it in—to the trash.

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OPPORTUNITY #2: to INTERRUPT a thought

MY EXAMPLE
When their parents’ house was finally empty—nearly three years later—the children finally put it on the market. 

STUDENT EXAMPLES

• After finishing her degree—almost 6 years in the making—Erica finally landed her dream job. 
• Books—just like TV shows, only better—take up so much space. 
• Realizing what she had done—a very bad parking job—she decided she was done with driving forever.
• When the kids got home—after six hours of school—they found out they were going on a vacation—Disney World. 

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OPPORTUNITY #3: to INTERRUPT dialogue

MY EXAMPLE
“But where did he—”
”Stop asking! If we knew, we sure as *&%# wouldn’t be at a police station right now!”

STUDENT EXAMPLES

• “My plan will—”
  • “Never work! It’s stupid and useless!”
• “You keep saying you’ve gained weight. Maybe you should start coming to the gym wi—”
  • And that was the last conversation he had with his wife.
• “Wait a second, why is she—”
  • “You don’t need to worry about her right now, darling.”

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OPPORTUNITY #4: to MODIFY or EXPLAIN

MY EXAMPLE
When he showed up to the restaurant—untall, undark, and definitely unhandsome—she slipped out the side door.

STUDENT EXAMPLES

• There were bound to be other mice here—they’d already met Samuel and his family, of course—but why this far down?
• The sword he now wields—the double-bladed golden behemoth—is believed to hold incomprehensible powers. 
• The books—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple—created a display that pilfered the hearts of each and every customer.

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OPPORTUNITY #5: to ADD HUMOR

MY EXAMPLE
Despite his brave demeanor, he’s actually deathly afraid of snakes—and girls.

STUDENT EXAMPLES

• Even though he seemed to be paying attention, he was actually always thinking about his homework—which he hadn’t done.
• The scarecrow was amazing at his job—in the field. 
• After a hard shot on net, the goalie jumped for the ball—more like galloped towards it.
• She cleaned the crayon off of the table—and her face.

If you found this interesting, you might enjoy another post in this series: The Art of Repetition.