Em Dashes, Parentheses, and Commas
Nov 7 2011Em dashes, parentheses, and commas set off parenthetical phrases in sentences. Each sets a distinct tone somewhere along the continuum of emphasis, with em dashes imparting the most emphasis to the phrase and parentheses imparting the least. Commas fall in the middle and are the most versatile of the three, minimizing interruption.
An em dash temporarily shifts the focus from the main body of the sentence and signals that the phrase contained therein is meant to further illustrate the point of the sentence and, perhaps, the paragraph. I am particularly partial to em dashes in legal writing as tools of persuasion and flow. Em dashes give the reader a moment to pause and prepare to focus on the phrase to come. If used correctly, the em dash can highlight a key concept or phrase used throughout the paragraph and help the reader draw connections leading to the conclusion. Em dashes can also be used to reemphasize a point without being repetitive. For example, the phrase contained within the em dashes in the following sentence restates the right the author is discussing and simultaneously qualifies the statutes:
It is well-established that the EPC protects the right to equal employment opportunity regardless of gender. Indeed, Title VII and the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)—two federal statutes with the goal of achieving equal employment opportunity for women—were enacted to enforce this constitutional right.
Additionally, in a sentence unavoidably long or complex, substituting commas with an em dash can eliminate confusion. Doing so also breaks up the monotony of the sentence. Take the following sentence as an example:
In both contexts, statutes—the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Title VII, respectively—make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer not to make reasonable accommodations, short of undue hardship, for the disabilities or religious practices of its employees.
If the em dashes were replaced with commas, the sentence would be wrought with them and might cause a reader to stumble or reread the sentence. By using an em dash, the writer also signals that the reader should take note of the specific statutes to which she refers, presumably because they are somehow relevant to the overall piece.
By contrast, parentheses are used to signify a tangential thought that is less integral to the point of the sentence, but perhaps clarifies or comments on the main body of the sentence. If the em dashes in the first example were replaced with parentheses, it would seem unimportant to the argument that Title VII and FMLA are federal statutes enacted to enforce employment rights. The reader might not pay attention to this point. Likewise, replacing the em dashes with parentheses in the second example would give the impression that the specific statutes are not necessarily important, but, perhaps, interesting.
Because parentheses usually contain tangential ideas, a temptation to use parentheses in legal writing should be carefully examined. The tangential idea contained in parentheses almost by definition has little persuasive value. Worse, it might be distracting or come off as snarky to the reader. If the idea contained in a parenthetical is important enough to be included, it probably can and should be included without parentheses so that it gets the full emphasis it deserves.
Finally, commas, the most common of these tools, seem to have an endless amount of uses. When used like em dashes or parentheses, they signal a clarification that flows smoothly from the main sentence body, to the phrase, and back to the main body again. The phrase “short of undue hardship” in the first example above illustrates this. The phrase, which qualifies an employer’s duty, deserves to be closely integrated with the sentence’s main body. Unless the writer is trying to make the point, for instance, that an employer was unduly burdened, the phrase should also not be highlighted relative to the other parts of the sentence.
Ultimately, which of these punctuation marks is used is determined by style and flow of the sentence and overall piece. It requires the writer to know what should be emphasized and deemphasized and listen carefully and critically to the writing.