Page 940 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
P. 940
The dash is used here to introduce a restatement and clarification of
method of locomotion.
A dash is used to set off material that the writer wants to emphasize.
Examples of Dashes Used to Emphasize
It was her kindness—not her money or her fame—that made
people love her.
A more formal way of punctuating this sentence would be to use
commas to set off the interrupter.
It was her kindness, not her money or her fame, that made
people love her.
The office was such a mess—books scattered on the floor,
papers and unopened mail stacked on the desk—that Natalie was
not sure where to start.
One way of expressing the idea in the sentence more formally would
be to use two sentences.
The office was such a mess that Natalie was not sure where to
start. Books were scattered on the floor; papers and unopened mail
were stacked on the desk.
