What’s the Difference Between Dashes and Hyphens?

A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes.

A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The most common types of dashes are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).

When to Use Hyphens

Some compound words, such as self-restraint are hyphenated. Numbers between twenty-five and ninety-nine should also be hyphenated when they’re spelled out. But when you’re not sure whether a compound word should have a hyphen or not, check a dictionary or style guide. Hyphenated words tend to become closed compounds (single words with no hyphens) over time. Email instead of e-mail, for example, is increasingly common.

You should also use a hyphen with a compound modifier before a noun. A compound modifier (also called a phrasal adjective) is made up of two or more words that must be understood as a unit. For example, “a big, bright hotel” does not contain a compound modifier because big and bright don’t form a unit of meaning. But “a dog-friendly hotel” does contain a compound modifier; unless you understand “dog-friendly” as a unit of meaning, the phrase doesn’t make sense. The hyphen shows the reader that the words should be taken together as a descriptor for the noun. Most often, compound modifiers are made up of an adjective plus a noun or participle. They’re also commonly composed of a noun plus a gerund.

a dog-friendly hotel closed-door meetings a book-loving student an expensive, flower-filled vase (this means that the vase is expensive) an expensive-flower-filled vase (this means that the vase is filled with expensive flowers)

But, remember, a compound modifier only needs a hyphen when it comes before a noun. If it comes after the noun, leave the hyphen out.

the hotel is dog friendly

There’s one other caveat: don’t use a hyphen when you have a compound modifier that consists of an adverb ending in -ly plus a participle or adjective. The -ly is sufficient to show that the compound is a unit of meaning.

a highly respected scientist an extremely embarrassing Facebook post a superbly cooked steak

When you have a compound modifier that is interrupted by some other word that’s not really part of the modifier, use a suspended hyphen:

Take a five- or ten-minute break.

Hyphens are also commonly used to divide words that fall at the end of a line of text and continue on the next line. Book and newspaper publishers still set type this way, but it’s rarely necessary to manually insert word breaks in your own writing because modern word processors automatically justify and align your text. If you do need to split a word at the end of a line, it’s best to break the word between syllables.

When to Use En Dashes

En dashes, which are about the width of an upper-case N, are often mistaken for hyphens. But, traditionally, en dashes function as a kind of super hyphen. They’re meant to give you a little extra glue when you have a compound modifier that includes a multi-word element that can’t easily be hyphenated. For example, the phrase Elvis Presley–style dance moves uses an en dash because Elvis-Presley-style dance moves is awkward; “Elvis Presley” isn’t a compound modifier, so hyphenating it looks odd. But, keep in mind, not all readers will notice en dashes or understand what they mean. Sometimes, it’s better to simply reword the phrase.

Elvis Presley–style dance moves or: dance moves like Elvis Presley’s

pre–World War II buildings or: buildings constructed before World War II

En dashes are also used to show ranges of numbers, such as times, page numbers, or scores (I’ll schedule you from 4:30–5:00). But, outside of formal printed publications, this type of en dash is commonly replaced with a simple hyphen.

When to Use Em Dashes

The em dash (about as wide as an uppercase M), is a relatively artistic punctuation mark, compared to the more technical hyphen and en dash. An em dash is most often used to indicate a pause in a sentence. It’s stronger than a comma, but weaker than a period or semicolon.

You can use a pair of em dashes to draw special attention to parenthetical information:

The new nurse—who was wearing the same purple scrubs as the old nurse—entered the room with a tray of Jello.

You can use a single em dash like a colon to add explanatory or amplifying information, especially when the information is surprising:

I opened the door and there she stood—my long lost sister.

Em dashes can also signal a sudden interruption, particularly in dialogue:

“Wait! I forgot to tell you—” The door slammed shut between us and I missed whatever she was trying to say.

Whether or not you use spaces around your em dashes (word—word or word — word) is a matter of style. Whichever style you choose, use it consistently throughout your document.

Remember, em dashes are not interchangeable with hyphens. Using a single hyphen instead of an em dash can confuse readers and make your writing look unprofessional. If you’re writing text in a program or on a website where the em dash character is completely unavailable, use two hyphens together (–) to signify an em dash.

10 Amazing Books That Will Improve Your Writing Skills

Here are two simple truths—writing skills can be taught, and all good writers are also readers. What better way to accomplish two things at once than to read books about writing?

Back in the late ’90s, I owned and managed one of the first websites to offer online workshops especially for writers. Nearly every week, some publishing house would send me one of their latest books for writers hoping for a glowing review. The bottom line? I’ve read a lot of books about how to write and how to live the writing life.

This collection of recommendations includes some of my favorite classics as well as impressive new additions that will help wordslingers of all types—from bloggers to content producers to budding novelists to poets—hone their skills.

The Best Writing How-To Books

1Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

Best for: Bloggers, content creators

Millions of new blog posts and other pieces of content hit the internet every single day. Ann Handley’s book is a must-have guide that shows content producers what it takes to stand out in a space where competition is fierce. With an accessible style, she takes on everything from how to write to grammar and usage to best practices. Perhaps my favorite part is Handley’s formula for creating content with a focus on empathizing with the reader and telling a great story. This isn’t just a how-to-write guide, it’ll also help you uncover what to write.

2Write Tight: Say Exactly What You Mean with Precision and Power by William Brohaugh

Best for: All writers

Writers are encouraged to make their writing lean and precise. Which is great advice, but how do you do it? Brohaugh, a former Writer’s Digest editor, offers all the necessary how-tos in this book. He teaches writers to eliminate redundancy, recognize and squash empty modifiers, and remove other dead weight that slows writing down. Although it’s sometimes criticized for being a bit pedantic, Brohaugh’s guide gave me some striking Aha! moments when I first read it about a decade ago, which is why I heartily recommend it.

3The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

Best for: All writers

Although Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is a time-honored classic, its prescriptive approach to language isn’t for everyone. Enter Harvard professor Steven Pinker with a more contemporary take. His witty approach recognizes that language is fluid and that, while it’s good to know and follow the rules when it makes sense to, expressive writing often relies on bending them. Writing newbs may find this book challenging, but it’s full of insight for those who already have a grasp on grammar and style and want to improve.

4You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins

Best for: Bloggers, content creators, indie authors

Jeff Goins parlayed a love of writing into a successful career as an author, blogger, and speaker. If you have the drive to succeed as a writer, Goins provides the roadmap. You Are a Writer isn’t so much a book about the art of writing as it is about the business of getting your hard work noticed. If you aspire to build your platform and become a professional writer, it’s a great place to start.

5Stein On Writing by Sol Stein

Best for: Creative writers

There are plenty of books that share advice for dealing with writer angst, getting unstuck creatively, and living life as a wordsmith. Stein On Writing is not one of those books. If you’re ready to dig into the nuts and bolts of great writing and you want to truly improve at your craft, this book is a master class by a veteran editor, author, and teacher.

6 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig

Best for: Fiction writers

Chuck Wendig’s writing isn’t for the sensitive or easily offended—his no-holds-barred style is full of biting humor, social commentary, and profanity. But what his book delivers is a contemporary guide to becoming a better fiction writer that’s rendered in quick, easy-to-digest truth bombs. This from a successful blogger, screenwriter, and author of numerous novels, including the New York Times bestselling Star Wars: Aftermath.

The Best Books about Living the Writing Life

7On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Best for: Fiction writers

Any writer who dreams of publishing a novel should add On Writing to their to-read (or to-reread) list. Part writing how-to and part memoir, King’s book is a modern classic. (I’ve read it three times so far.) I love King’s stories about how his experiences forged him as a writer from early on. I’m moved by the tale of how King, his young family living hand-to-mouth, collapsed to the floor when his editor called to tell him that the paperback rights to Carrie, his breakout novel, sold for $400,000.

Not only does On Writing share one enormously successful writer’s origin story, it teaches the craft of writing in a way that feels conversational and real, as though he’s a mentor sitting across the table from you, sipping coffee and giving you his best advice.

8Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Best for: Creative writers

Sometimes writers take themselves too seriously. By allowing us a glimpse of her own human foibles, Anne Lamott takes some of the sting out of the things that cause writers grief, from perfectionism to insomnia. And she does it all with her celebrated wit and self-deprecating humor. It’s like having a crazy writer aunt to commiserate with. And you’ll learn a thing or two in the process.

9Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within Natalie Goldberg

Best for: Creative writers

Natalie Goldberg’s approach to writing is simple—if you want to write truthfully and powerfully, you have to connect with yourself. Using Zen teachings, she encourages writers to follow their first thoughts and to trust their minds and bodies to lead them. Her voice is accessible, and sometimes vulnerable, and her inspirational and wildly creative methods have been helping writers find their voices for over thirty years.

10Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Best for: Creative writers

In the form of some Fahrenheit 451 bookends, I own a chunk of Ray Bradbury’s former California bungalow, so I could hardly leave his classic off the list. Zen in the Art of Writing, a collection of essays on the writing life, rings with sage wisdom from a famous sci-fi master. Keep your highlighter (physical or digital) handy for marking all the memorable phrases, like “Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me . . . .I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces back together. Now it’s your turn. Jump!”

Quiz: What Kind of Imposter Syndrome Do You Have?

It’s irrelevant that you’ve been working in your field for years; you’re living in fear of being outed as a fraud. A fake. A phony.

It’s imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is the inability to internalize your successes, coupled with the fear of being outed as an unqualified fraud.

This fear of being exposed as inadequate and unqualified literally keeps you from achieving your best professional self.

You are not alone. In fact, nearly everyone has experienced a case of it at some time in their lives. So what keeps some people operating in fear while others can let it go? According to Valerie Young, author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer From the Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It, part of the solution is understanding the category of imposter syndrome that you have. Young lists five categories:

1. Perfectionist
2. The Superwoman/man
3. The Natural Genius
4. The Rugged Individualist
5. The Expert

How Do I Know Which Imposter Syndrome I Have?

In her book, Young points out some identifying features of each kind of imposter syndrome. Though her book will give you a more accurate sense of where you stand, we crafted the following quiz around her descriptions in order to help you understand which form is your most dominant and how you can overcome imposter syndrome.

Red Flags to Avoid During Your Job Search in 2017

In today’s competitive job market, how you communicate with potential employers can make your skills stand out. Making sure you effectively express yourself, accurately represent your abilities, and stay present throughout the process is what makes the difference in ultimately receiving a job offer.

Your first interaction with your desired company is likely to happen through writing. But you’ll need more than just a sparkling resume and cover letter. With that in mind, I’ll show you what to avoid, how to get the most from your resume and cover letter, and how to approach email correspondence with your future employers.

3 no-nos to avoid on your resume

1. Overlooking grammar. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that at Grammarly, we tend to keep a close eye on spelling, grammar, and punctuation in resumes. But above all else, practical communication is what we assess when we’re looking at someone’s experiences on paper. Can we understand what you’re talking about? Do you highlight the most important information? Certain roles, like our recently filled community manager position, require an even closer examination of writing skills because of the necessity of writing in that role’s day-to-day function. Writing is an essential skill we look for in potential candidates because at the very least, everyone writes emails as a representative of their company.

2. Misrepresenting employment history. Pay close attention to your employment section. It’s noticeable when someone’s resume dates are incorrect or out of order. You should tailor your resume to the type of position you’re seeking, but it’s critical that you accurately represent your employment history and career development.

3. Use no more than two pages. When people say keep your resume on one page, I don’t think that applies as much to our present-day workforce. We’re not receiving paper resumes anymore, so two-page breakdowns are fine. If it takes more than one page to show the value of your work history, so be it. Don’t shy away from detailing what makes you an ideal fit.

3 cover letter faux pas you should be aware of

1. Addressing it to the wrong recipient. It always irks me when I read a cover letter that is addressed to another company. That’s an immediate red flag and could lead to a candidate being rejected. I can tell the letter was copied and pasted. We read all incoming cover letters here at Grammarly, so I would highly recommend you double-check your intended audience because most companies that require a letter will read them.

2. Generalizing your experience. You can tell when someone hasn’t spent much time crafting their cover letter. We require them when writing is essential to a particular role. We also value them because we want to know how someone’s work background relates to our opening. A lot of people write about how they’re so great for the position because they did X, Y and Z at their previous company, but the things they describe are not relevant to our job posting. If you’re writing a letter, tell me how your past experience is going to translate into what we need.

3. Rewriting your resume in letter form. People often overlook that we do have your resume in your application, so there’s tons of additional information there that doesn’t need to be re-explained. Detail the reasons you would be good for the role and highlight the experience that makes you qualified. If it’s a role that is different than your work experience, the letter offers a chance to show us why you’re interested.

3 ways you can hurt your chances via email

1. Not being aware of timing. If I’ve informed a candidate that they’re advancing to another stage of the interview process—a phone call, an on-site interview, or a reference check—and they’re not getting back to me within 24 hours, I tend to think there’s a lack of interest on the candidate’s part. Be present and engaged for any and all conversations throughout the interview process.

2. Responding with typos. Email mistakes might be considered a red flag for some, but I don’t consider it to be an immediate deal-breaker. Let’s be completely honest … email typos happen. They’re not ideal, but they do happen. People’s brains move so fast that a minor mistake is understandable. I’m not going to suddenly remove someone from consideration because of one error, especially if they’ve already made it to an advanced stage in the interview process. But if it happens over and over, I reconsider moving the candidate forward due to their lack of attention to detail.

3. Missing a simple opportunity to say, “Thank you.” Expressing gratitude still goes a long way. When I receive a thank you email from a candidate, I feel more inclined to push them along in the process a little bit faster. A recent hire at Grammarly went above and beyond on this front. She met with our recruiting team and came back later that day to meet with our executive team. In between the interviews, she gave us handwritten thank you notes. It was so thoughtful, and it spoke to her sincere interest in the role and the company.

Mastering effective communication is an important goal in any job search. Strong writing, for that matter, is one of the key ways you can increase your chances of landing a new position. Grammarly’s blog is here to help you take your writing to the next level.

Affective vs. Effective: What’s the Difference?

Is affective just another word for effective? Are the two words similar and entangled in the way the verbs affect and effect are? No, affective is not just another word for effective. And affective and effective are not derived from the verbs affect and effect. They come from the nouns affect and effect.

Affective is usually used in the field of psychology and addresses emotions and feelings. Effective is common in everyday language to describe something that produces a desired result.

The Difference Between Affective and Effective

Affective and effective are adjectives with no boundary issues, at least not with each other. There’ll be none of that nonsense “affect” and “effect” like to pull off, so let’s dive into what makes the two adjectives so different from each other.

• Affective describes something that has been influenced by emotions, is a result of emotions, or expresses emotion.
• Effective describes something that produces a desired result.
• Effective comes from the noun effect, which means result. Affective comes from the noun affect, which does not mean the same thing as the verb affect.

Affective Definition

An affective action would be an action that was caused by emotions. Affective things are like that—they are either caused by emotions or feelings, influenced by them, or are otherwise related to emotions. You can also use affective to say that something expresses emotions. Affective is an adjective formed from the noun affect, which appears quite frequently in psychology-related writing. Imagine that you’re looking at someone who is experiencing a strong emotion—every manifestation of that emotion you can observe is an affect. At least, that’s the easiest way to understand it.

Effective Definition

When you want to say that something you’re doing is causing results, you can say that it’s effective. Specifically, something is effective when it produces the results you want. And that’s a very appropriate way to define effective, because we get the adjective from the noun effect—a result. It’s not too hard to remember the difference between affective and effective. You just have to use a small upside-down mnemonic device—when it comes to affective and effective, a is for emotion, and e is for action.

Why You Might Have Trouble with Affective

One reason it’s sometimes easy to mix up the meaning of the adjective affective is that the noun it’s derived from, affect, is spelled the same as the verb affect, but the two have very different meanings.

While affect the noun, as we already explained, relates to the emotions we experience, affect the verb means to cause an effect, or to influence.

Examples of Affective and Effective in Sentences

Doctors also report they have patients who seem to experience a summer version of seasonal affective disorder. —NBC News

Only humans were thought to have this ability of affective forecasting, in which prior experiences are used to conjure up mental pictures about totally new situations. —Science Daily

Educators are always on the look-out for ways to make their teaching more effective, and it seems the secret to effective learning may be less study not more. —Forbes

Twitter’s rights to the MLB and NHL games are effective immediately. —Variety

Baseball Fans Come Out Swinging in 2016 MLB Grammar Power Rankings

The Boys of Summer are in their glory! Last year, we ranked all thirty Major League Baseball teams by how well their fans write when they’re talking them up or just playing armchair coach online. Our ranking was such a hit that we decided to make it an annual event.

We gathered 3,000 fan comments (of fifteen words or more) posted to each MLB team’s SB Nation blog between June 1 and June 14, 2016. We then used the Grammarly editor to detect grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation errors in each comment and used the sums to calculate the average number of errors per 100 words. Updates to Grammarly’s algorithms and an increase in our study sample size changed the numbers game this year. Our 2015 study analyzed 4,500 fan comments from MLB.com. The 2016 study sample size was twenty times that (90,000 total comments.) The larger sample, coupled with our software’s more objective grammar checks, meant that writing scores improved across the board.

This year, top honors went to the Miami Marlins. Marlins fans made an average 1.39 mistakes per 100 words. Baseball fans from Ohio also swung for the fences, with the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds coming in second and third. Saint Louis Cardinals fans, on the other hand, should’ve spent some time honing their writing skills during spring training. Their average of 2.2 errors per 100 words landed them in last place. National League fans edged out American League fans with 1.79 mistakes per 100 words versus 1.82.

How did your favorite team’s fans stack up? Take a look at our 2016 Grammar Power Rankings to find out.

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Sneaky, Nerdy Ways to Celebrate Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day is a unique gift to both Star Wars fans and wordplay fans, giving us the opportunity to wish friend and foe alike, “May the Fourth be with you.”

Even if you live here on Earth and not in a galaxy far, far away, there are still ways to make sure that the Force is strong with you this May the Fourth. Maybe you incorporate subtle references into your day at the office, or change your speech habits. Maybe you just throw a #StarWarsDay into your preferred social media venue. And there are always lightsaber battles.

To get you on your way, here are thirty-one ways to feel the Force flowing through you this #StarWarsDay.

1 Show up to work as Darth Vader. Or, if you’re not the boss and don’t want to appear insubordinate, a stormtrooper. Those bucketheads fit right in in the workplace.

2 Don’t have a helmet handy? Try a slightly more subtle costume. For example: black vest over a white shirt, tan jacket with khakis, khakis and white v-neck, or brown bathrobe.

3 Insert a random, irreverent gif into a work email. For example:

• Cats with lightsabers
• Bears with lightsabers
• Disco-dancing Chewbacca

4 Put blue food coloring in your milk. It may not be from a Bantha, but even Jedi need their calcium.

5 Get Han Solo legos and freeze them in ice cubes for a carbonite cocktail. If you’re ready for commitment, you can even buy an ice cube tray with that scoundrel’s outline already built in. Just don’t let Boba Fett get to him first.

6 Other drink ideas: there’s the Hoth Toddy, the Qui-Gon Jinn and Tonic, the Dark and Stormy Trooper, and more. And don’t imbibe them without first getting the perfect cups.

7 Listen to John Williams’ score to boost your mood while you sit at the computer. Need a bigger boost? Listen to Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes play the Cantina song on loop for ten hours. Repeat as needed.

8 Try not to speak English for a full day. Some alternate language ideas:

• “Utinni!” (Jawaese for “Wow”)
• “Wee now kong bantha poodoo.” (Huttese for “Now you’re bantha fodder.”)
• “Huuguughghg raaaaaahhgh huuguughghg uughguughhhghghghhhgh huuguughghg huurh aarrragghuuhw.” (Shyriiwook for “That was a scintillating presentation.” Get your own Wookiee translations here.)

9 Still not satisfied with a subtle costume? Check out some of the cosplay creations from the Star Wars Celebration a few weeks back. You never know—Salacious Crumb just might be a major help in the office.

10 Everyone likes the gal or guy who brings food to work. Especially pastries. Especially sticky buns shaped like Princess Leia’s hair.

11 Work “I have a bad feeling about this” into casual conversation. Or, if things get really rough, “it’s a trap!”

12 You never know where in the galaxy you might have a secret father, sister, or other relative, so get your DNA tested with 23andMe. If you find any new relatives, make sure you reveal your relationship after having a brutal Force battle and cutting off their favorite limb.

13 Ride a tauntaun to work. Snow lizards not native to your habitat? No problem. Take a broomstick, an alpaca mask, and some ram horns, stick them all together, and you’ve got your transport. Just remember: they smell bad on the outside, but the inside is worse.

14 If someone gets on your bad side, diss them good with one of these classic Star Wars insults:

• Slimy piece of worm-ridden filth
• Nearsighted scrap pile
• Walking carpet
• Mindless philosopher
• Overweight glob of grease
• Slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler
• Fuzzball
• Scoundrel
• Goldenrod
• Scum
• Malfunctioning little twerp
• Stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder

15 If you want to get out of doing something, say “But I was going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!”

16 Change all your passwords to THX1138.

17 Refer to anyone subordinate to you as “Padawan,” and call your superiors “Master,” “Lord,” or (preferably) “Grand Moff.” If you call your boss “Emperor,” just prepare for the repercussions.

18 Set the Imperial March as your ringtone.

19 You can have a lightsaber battle with any number of everyday objects. For example:

• Highlighters
• Rulers
• Pencils
• Bananas
• Rolled-up yoga mats
• Actual lightsabers. Maybe, just maybe, that’s in the realm of possibility.

20 Find (or become) a mentor. Star Wars is all about making connections with people (or aliens), learning how to forge your own path, and occasionally lifting rocks with your mind while you’re upside down. If you’re picking a mentee, just make sure you do a quick midichlorian count first.

21 Drape a brown sheet around yourself and pick up trash on the side of the road. Bonus if you can find droid bits in a sandlot.

22 Feeling unproductive? Blame it on having a bad motivator.

23 If you’re a Star Wars someplace where it’s cold, build a snow fort. Not everyone gets to celebrate Star Wars Day on Hoth.

24 Read How Star Wars Conquered the Universe. It’s a history of the franchise, an encyclopedia of the Star Wars galaxy, and a fan’s dream come true.

25 Try your hand—and your telekinesis—at “vadering.” (If you’re in the workplace, maybe make sure you get consent first).

26 Watch the fan-made version of A New Hope, a YouTube masterpiece that breaks the original movie into thirty-second chunks and features hundreds of artistic approaches to retelling the story. Between the trash-can R2-D2s, glued-on Obi-Wan beards, and fan-created animations, it’s pretty much a new art form.

27 Start (or continue) your countdown to Episode VIII. As of May 4, it’s 224 days until December 15.

28 On a similar note, watch the trailer for The Last Jedi. A few hundred times. Dissect every moment. Post your predictions on fan boards. Check your countdown: rats, it’s still 224.

29 Change your email auto-signature to MTFBWY.

30 Tough project at work? Let Yoda inspire you: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

31 May the Fourth not enough for you? In some circles, tomorrow is known as Revenge of the Fifth. It’s an opportunity to join the dark side and celebrate all the Sith Lords doing their best to exploit the power of the Force for their own gain. Just don’t be seduced by the dark side. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Plus, May 6 is just a normal day.

Star Wars Day may happen only once a year, but remember: the Fourth will be with you. Always.