Question

When writing, you can most effectively use a dash to

A. get the reader's attention.
B. replace an exclamation point.
C. add a formal touch to a sentence.
D. replace a semicolon.

Answer 1

@Missiey

Answer 2

a

Answer 3

C. To get the reader's attention.

If I want to draw the reader's attention to a phrase -- to throw it in their face, as it were -- I set it off with an em dash. Generally on a computer, you make it by typing two minus signs (-) next to each other. Some word processing programs (Word, for example) will automatically change the two minus signs into one long em dash.

If it's a phrase I don't have any strong feelings about emphasizing or de-emphasizing, perhaps because I just want the sentence to flow along, I set it off with commas.

If I want to de-emphasize a phrase (to make it seem almost like an afterthought) I enclose it in parentheses.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Em_dash#Em_...

Answer 4

A To get the reader's attention