HutchCC Punctuation Exercise

Dash Exercises
Explanation
The dash separates ideas more strongly than the comma, but less strongly than the period or
parentheses. Use the dash to set off phrases or clauses from the rest of the sentence—to emphasize
the text, mark a shift or interruption in thought, or to set off an appositive (something that renames
what came previously), especially to avoid confusion with another level of commas. However, do not
use dashes when another punctuation mark will serve as well or better.
Orthographically, note that the dash (—) is longer than the hyphen (-), which combines words
to make compound words (blue-green, or all-knowing). Use no spaces between the dash or hyphen
and the words on either side of either one. See the examples below:
 Teach me when to use and not use the dash. / Teach me when to use—and not use—the dash.
 My sister—a genius with acrylics, oils, and watercolors—hates painting her house.
 We all want—or we should all want—peace on Earth.
 When you have writer’s block, write anything to start with—a grocery list, a journal entry, a
goofy story—or refocus on your assignment by writing an outline, or rereading and revising the
existing work.

Directions
Correct punctuation as needed below. Note that with dashes, often other punctuation—or a lack of
punctuation—may be equally correct. If a sentence is correct, write “C” beside it. Check your
answers after completing each exercise group.

Exercise Group 1
1. Everywhere we looked, we saw little kids, a lollipop in one hand and a parent’s sleeve in the
other.

2. The wall displayed hundreds of bears—black bears with hats or bows, brown bears with
jackets or ribbon collars, pink bears in tutus, and white bears with Coca Cola bottles.

3. I admire the following actors—Patrick Steward, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, and Carry Grant.

4. I like you, please go out with me.

5. She collects classic films such as—Harvey, the original King Kong, and Casablanca.

6. The mousy student council secretary offered an idea for a fundraiser, which was itself
unusual, and then offered to head the committee for the event.

7. He lives in Topeka, on fifth street—and works at the Kansas Highway Patrol office.

8. This product when used correctly can save your life.

9. Kevin has the box set of Star Wars, the Special Edition version, that I want.

10. Barker is the yippy dog type hence the name.

Exercise Group 2
11. When in Rome—do as the Romans do.

12. She is the friend the only friend I have had since grade school.

13. I never thought anyone could be so flexible—before you.

14. I need three more items before I can make the cheesecake, eggs, cream cheese, and milk.

15. Hey, could you, never mind.

16. Nick, Katy, and Ramon, all three won top places in the forensics tournament.

17. All six of them (the two Miller kids and four Lee kids) worked together to make the tree house.

18. We can go to Disney Land, wait, I’m not finished, if I get a bonus.

19. He showed us the photos—ones by Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, and Tokihiro Sato, he liked
the most.

20. The former owner—it was a used book—had written helpful notes in the margins.

Exercise Group 3
21. Please get from the store—bread, milk, and cheese: pepper jack cheese if they have it.

22. The cat—a three-legged grey tabby with white socks—jumped gracefully onto the ledge.

23. What role does Jane or any such professional play in the process?

24. Jack asked Clarisse to fetch his assignment, an essay on Hamlet from his car.

25. Carrie invited us to return anytime soon being preferable.

26. The job requires among other things good physical ability, intelligence, and character.

27. Finally, networking, that highly-encouraged activity also finds an advocate in this film.

28. What should an information provider do with potentially dangerous—or controversial—

29. Should such materials be protected: censored from people who might misuse it?

30. All forms of cooking, due to a combination of high temperatures, long cooking times, and the
addition of water that collects water-soluble nutrients, decrease the nutritional value of food.
HutchCC Punctuation Exercise

Exercise Group 4
31. I advise you to not knock over bookshelves especially when some genius has arranged them
unsupported in domino fashion.

32. We must have plans or advocate for plans to handle such problems.

33. Finish the introduction with a strong thesis statement, your main idea about the item, person,
or place.

34. Adjectives modify or—describe—nouns

35. Perhaps you know that a study partner has forgotten several times in the past—it would be
logical to say “he probably forgot,” but evidence is insufficient to definitely say “he forgot.”

36. He says it is—or ought to be true—in all cases.

37. I’ve lost my original train of thought—my paper is chaotic, and I don’t know what to do next.

38. Try writing an outline—either of what is written so far or of what you want to write.

39. Consider what (specifically) it makes you expect.

40. Under severe stress—most cannot function effectively—or at all.

Exercise Group 5
41. Introductions can be as straightforward, formal, casual, or creative as desired—or as a writer
deems fit for the particular project.

42. The idea had—and still has merit.

43. Thousands of people, of every county, age, condition, and ethnicity, visit the fair every year.

44. Perhaps you will change your mind—and seek as other enlightened citizens have done—the
salvation and protection of these valuable resources.

45. The film has terrific if disturbing special effects.

46. All of them—Sylvia, Jason, and George were present.

47. Casey wound up, raised a knee, stepped forward—and mightily pitched the baseball right into
the ground.

48. The recipe requires—five pounds of carrots, heavy whipping cream, flour, an egg, salt,
nutmeg, cinnamon—and probably a couple other ingredients I can’t recall.

49. The council decided in favor of the resolution—regarding Haiti.

50. The committee examined the traditional college freshman composition class; what its original
purpose was and whether it still fulfilled that purpose. 
HutchCC Punctuation Exercise

51. The script, in whatever form it retains after revision, still needs a clear plot and strong
characters.
Dash Exercises ANSWERS
Exercise Group 1
1. [Kids] C. Alternately, use a dash: “. . . kids—a lollipop . . .”
2. [Bears] C. Alternately, replace the dash with a colon.
3. [Actors] Replace the dash with a colon. (This presents a list, not an appositive.)
4. [I like you] Replace the comma with a dash or semicolon.
5. [Classic films] Remove the dash (use only a space).
6. [Mousy secretary] C. Alternately, replace both commas with dashes. (It would be
incorrect to replace only one comma with a dash.)
7. [Topeka] 1) Replace the comma with a dash 2) Replace the dash with a comma, or 3)
Replace both comma and dash with only spaces.
8. [Product] Add commas or dashes around “when used correctly.”
9. [Star Wars] C. Alternately, replace both commas with dashes.
10. [Barker] Add a dash or comma before “hence.”

Exercise Group 2
11. [Rome] Replace the dash with a comma.
12. [Friend] Add dashes around “the only friend.”
13. [Flexible] C. (Alternately, but less ideal, use a comma in place of the dash.)
14. [Cheesecake] Replace the first comma after “cheesecake” with a colon or dash.
15. [Never mind] Replace the second comma before “never mind” with a dash.
16. [Forensics] Replace the last comma, after the list of names, with a dash.
17. [Tree house] C. Alternately, replace the parentheses with dashes.
18. [Disney Land] Replace the commas on either side of “wait, I’m not finished” with dashes.
19. [Photos] Replace the comma after “Sato” with a dash. Alternately use parentheses.
20. [Used book] C.

Exercise Group 3
21. [Cheese] Remove the first dash and replace the colon with a dash.
22. [Three-legged tabby] C. Alternately use commas in place of the dashes.
23. [Jane] C. Alternately, use commas or dashes around “or any such professional.”
24. [Hamlet] Either use commas or dashes on both sides of “an essay on Hamlet.”
25. [Carrie] Add a dash or comma: “return anytime—soon being preferable.”
26. [The job] Add dashes around “among other things.” (Commas are less ideal, but okay.)
27. [Networking] 1) Add a comma after “activity,” 2) Use dashes on either side of “that highly-
encouraged activity,” or 3) Use only one dash after “networking” (1 and 2 treat the phrase
within commas or dashes as an appositive. 3 treats “networking” as an introductory phrase.)
28. [Controversial info] C. Alternately, but less ideally, use commas in place of dashes.
29. [Censored?] Remove colon, and 1) place dashes around “censored”—or less ideally, use
commas—to indicate that “censored” rewords “protected,” or 2) place one dash before
“censored” to indicate that the whole second part of the sentence rewords the first part.
30. [Cooking] For clarity, use dashes after “All forms of cooking” and before “decrease the
nutritional value of food.”
HutchCC Punctuation Exercise
HutchCC Punctuation Exercise

Exercise Group 4
31. [Bookshelves] Add a comma—or less ideally, a dash—before “especially.”
32. [Plans] C. Alternately, add commas or dashes around “or advocate for plans.”
33. [Thesis] For clarity, replace the first comma after “statement” with a dash or colon.
34. [Adjectives] 1) Remove both dashes, and optionally italicize “describe.” 2) Move the first
dash before “or” instead of after it.
35. [Forgot] Replace the dash with a period, or with a comma and the conjunction “so.”
36. [In all cases] Move the second dash before “true” instead of after.
37. [Train of thought] Replace the dash with a semicolon.
38. [Outline] C. Alternately, replace the dash with a comma.
39. [Specifically] Correct if “specifically” is an afterthought—but replace the parentheses with
dashes to emphasize it.
40. [Stress] Change the first dash to a comma.

Exercise Group 5
41. [Introductions] C. (Less ideally, replace the dash with a space.)
42. [Merit] Add a dash before “merit.” Alternately, remove all dashes.
43. [The fair] Remove the first and last commas, or replace both with dashes.
44. [Seek] 1) Move the first dash to follow “seek.” 2) Keep the first dash but remove the second.
45. [Special effects] Add dashes or commas around “if disturbing.”
46. [All present] Add a dash after “George.”
47. [Baseball] C. Alternately, replace the dash with ellipses.
48. [Recipe] Remove the first dash. Optionally, change the last dash to a comma.
49. [Council] Remove the dash.
50. [Committee] Change the semicolon to a dash or colon.
51. [Script] C. Alternately, change both commas to dashes.