Down with A.I.! Long live the em dash!
The em dash isn't a trend. It's a tool. It carries pause, timing, and intention-things machines imitate but rarely feel.
Yet here we are: the dash has been flagged as a "GPT-ism," a tell that a paragraph may have been stitched by a chatbot. Blame overuse, not the mark. The dash still earns its place when you use it with purpose.
Why writers still need the em dash
The em dash lets you control pace without clutter. It can stand in for a comma, a colon, or parentheses-when you want emphasis or a sharper break.
Used well, it clarifies. Used everywhere, it muddies voice and makes your work sound machine-made.
The rules that keep your dash human
- Function: Works like a comma, colon, or parentheses-never like a hyphen.
- Spacing: Americans don't add spaces around an em dash; Brits usually do. Pick one and stay consistent.
- Frequency: One or two per paragraph is plenty. More starts to look like auto-text.
- No hyphen swaps: Don't use a hyphen or en dash where an em dash belongs. They're different marks.
- Keyboard: Mac: Option + Shift + - (minus). Windows: Alt + 0151 (numeric keypad). Many editors convert two hyphens -- into an em dash.
How A.I. turned the dash into a "tell"
Large language models over-lean on em dashes to fake rhythm. The pattern is easy to spot: generic phrasing, then a dramatic dash-then another-until the sentence collapses.
Your fix is simple: intention. If a comma or period does the job, use it. Save the dash for emphasis, contrast, or a clean aside.
Voices that back the dash
Filmmakers, authors, and public figures-think Sofia Coppola, Michael Lewis, Monica Lewinsky-value pacing and subtext. The em dash supports that. It's a pause that says more than a comma and less than a full stop.
Make your dash unmistakably human
- Vary your punctuation. Mix periods, commas, and the occasional semicolon. Style is pattern-change the pattern.
- Cut filler. If the dash introduces fluff, delete the clause and keep the sentence tight.
- Read it aloud. If you can't hear the pause, you don't need the dash.
- Use contrast on purpose. The dash shines when you pivot-surprise, contradiction, or an aside worth highlighting.
- Edit for shape. One long sentence per paragraph is fine; three is where readers check out.
Quick do/don't list
- Do use the em dash to emphasize the punchline of a sentence.
- Do keep U.S. style (no spaces) or U.K. style (spaces) consistent across the piece.
- Don't chain multiple dashes in one sentence unless you're deliberately writing a fractured thought.
- Don't replace hyphens in compound words with em dashes. Different job entirely.
Standards and resources
If you use A.I., control the style
Prompt with rules: limit em dashes to one per paragraph, enforce U.S. or U.K. spacing, and swap dashes for commas where clarity wins. Then edit like a hawk.
Want structured ways to shape A.I. tone, cadence, and punctuation? Try these practical guides: Prompt engineering for writers.
The em dash isn't the problem. Lazy rhythm is. Use the mark with intent-and your voice will never read like a bot.
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