> Em dashes may also add or increase emphasis but are normally treated as an aside. Think of it as a comment by the author to inject themselves, sometimes in ways which do not form a complete sentence.

A semicolon is better for this purpose. Good writing doesn't have mad tangents anyway, there should be a flow and natural transition.

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Izkata 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Semicolons start a new thought, they don't mark an aside that lets you return to the original line of thought. Like in their example:

> For example: When you read this sentence (in your mind) it should feel complete and correct. Perhaps you read in your own voice — something I don’t normally do — or without one at all.

I would have used parentheses in both places, and semicolons don't work in either one:

> For example: When you read this sentence (in your mind) it should feel complete and correct. Perhaps you read in your own voice (something I don’t normally do) or without one at all.

	▲	JCattheATM an hour ago \| parent [-]
		> Semicolons start a new thought, they don't mark an aside that lets you return to the original line of thought. Sure they do. They're perfect for a related tangent without abounding the greater scope topic being discussed. > I would have used parentheses in both places, and semicolons don't work in either one: Parentheses work no question and I would argue are far more appropriate in that example since it's a minor elaboration/clarification and not a tangent, indeed, semicolons would not be appropriate for that.

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orthogonal_cube 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Good writing doesn't have mad tangents anyway, there should be a flow and natural transition.

In general, yes. Technical documents, research reports, news articles, and other formal publications should follow this.

Anything else which allows a bit more freedom in expression? I’d say it’s a matter of taste.

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JCattheATM 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I had freewritten, generally free expression type documents in mind when I wrote my statement, e.g. blog articles or opinion pieces. The problem is 'a matter of taste' can be used to excuse/justify anything.

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ssl-3 an hour ago | parent [-]

That's more of a feature than it is a problem.

	▲	JCattheATM 13 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Agree to disagree. It allows badly written stuff to be defended, I would argue more often than alternative more acceptable case scenarios.

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ImPostingOnHN 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

A semicolon is for separating list items that follow a colon

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garciansmith 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Semicolons have more than one use.

"In regular prose, a semicolon is most commonly used between two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction to signal a closer connection between them than a period would." Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition, 407.

	▲	ImPostingOnHN an hour ago \| parent [-]
		An em dash would be better for that purpose — good writing should flow, like an em dash.