Dashes and Hyphens
EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLE
There are two types of dashes, the en dash and the em dash (also written as N-dash and M-dash).
Use em dashes to indicate a sudden disruption in a sentence (but be cautious not to overuse this tool as doing so can weaken the academic tone of the writing), like this:
I tested two participants—one from my control group and one from my experiment group—and both passed.
Use en dashes to connect words in a compound adjective when those words are of equal weight (i.e., when the dash could be replaced by the word “to”), or importance, like this:
I missed the Chicago–Atlanta flight, and so now I’m being rerouted through Miami.
Participants ranged in age from 8–10 years old. (Note: preference here would be to use the word "to," like this: Participants ranged in age from 8 to 10 years old.)
Note: En dashes are shorter than em dashes but longer than hyphens, and in APA Style, there is no space between the words and the dash.
Use hyphens to connect compound words. Unfortunately, not all dictionaries agree on when a compound should be two words, a single word, or a hyphenated word. APA follows the Webster’s Collegiate dictionary, so if you’re ever unsure of how to write a compound, first check there.
You’ll almost always hyphenate compounds and what are called temporary compounds, which are compounds made up of two or more words that do not usually occur together to make a point or describe something specific, when they precede what they modify, like this:
This was a six-trial study.
I wanted to talk to the ninth-grade students.
The book discussed middle-class families and urban sprawl.
I called Group A the hat-wearing group. (this is a temporary compound!)
The client is a 58-year-old female. (Note: there is no hyphen when the age follows the subject, like this: The client is 58 years old.)
Note: In APA style, you will hyphenate all self- compounds, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and so forth.
Do not hyphenate words that begin with the following prefixes: non, pre, post, re, semi, and many others (check Table 4.2 on page 99 of your 6th Edition APA Manual). For example:
Pretest, posttest, semistructured, reevaluate, nonessential
Note: You might find that MS Word marks these words as misspelled, so you’ll need to just ignore that!.
Use a minus sign when expressing mathematical equations, but use a hyphen for negative numbers, like this:
Note: This is not an exhaustive summary of all hyphen rules. Visit pages 97-100 in your 6th Edition APA Manual, and specifically Tables 4.1 and 4.2, for more information
WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION
For more information about dashes and hyphens in APA Style, see pages 90 and 97-100 of the Publication Manual, Sixth Edition (4.06 Dash and 4.13 Hyphenation).
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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