WHEN I WAS IN IRAQ, (Nov 2008-Dec 2009) I was stationed at the RPC, also known as the Radwaniyah Palace Complex. I forget the number, but I think it was a total of 83 palaces in the area (that number may be wildly exaggerated) but well over 100 throughout Iraq during Saddam’s reign. While stationed there, I began to take online classes at the Academy of Art University. At the time, they were one of a small handful of universities that had an accredited illustration program, AND an online program at that. Along with a math class, one of the core classes I had to take was an English/grammar class. There was a required reading book and for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of it, but there was a whole chapter on punctuation.

One of the punctuation marks discussed was the em dash. What is an em dash and its purpose? That’s a great question. An em dash is literally a dash “—” (not to be mistaken as the dash (-) on your keyboard; the em dash is considered a “special character”) that is used to mark a break in a sentence where a comma or semicolon could be used. For example, a sentence about two lovers might read: The two were an attractive couple—adorable, even. In that sentence, a comma could easily be used.

So why use an em dash if a comma or semicolon would suffice? I don’t agree with some definitions that it can be use in place of a colon, because a colon’s purpose is to direct our attention to something that follows, like a list or an explanation. For example: Margaret knew when she got to the party, if Dave was going to show up like he said, he’d be wearing an outfit that would stand out: a tall hat, a bright shirt, skinny jeans and pumps. Could you use an em dash there? Probably, but why take away the job of the colon? After reading that book, I began to use the em dash in most—if not all—of my writing.

Think about the best comedians. When they’re telling a story, the last line of each story they’re telling is the punchline. There’s often a pause before they hit you with an offensive joke that you didn’t see coming. There are countless articles written about the purpose of an em dash, but that’s what it all comes down to, emphasis on the second part of a sentence, OR to emphasize a part of a sentence with two em dashes in the sentence. For example: He still checked his phone regularly—sometimes multiple times an hour—but with each glance at the screen, he knew there’d be no text. In that last sentence, I want the emphasis on how often he checked the phone.

So why am I writing about the em dash? The reason is because of how often I’m hearing it mentioned in relation to ChatGPT. One particular moment stands out when I was listening to Simon Sineck and Steven Bartlet’s Diary of a CEO (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4tqbEmplug) and one of the comments they make is how reliant on ChatGPT we are. Steven says something along the lines of, “when I read emails from people who used to have typos using words I know they’d never use, and phrases they’d never say, I know they used Chat GPT” and Simon says, “oh and the em dash.”

I think because Chat GPT is now being used in almost every aspect of our writing, that a punctuation mark that can trace its roots alllllllll the way back to the Ancient Greeks, is now getting a bad rap. Because it’s being overused in AI writing, then it must be bad, right? No…nothing could be further from the truth. If per chance, your boss or coworker, family member or partner has suddenly begun using them, it’s a huge possibility that Chat GPT is helping them.

I will say that I’ve become cognizant of how often I’m using them and at times, probably a little too much. Because of the overuse of the punctuation mark’s usage in ChatGPT, now, when anyone uses it, the assumption is that the writer used AI in their writing, which is unfortunate.

BELOW IS THE COVER ART FOR Message Not Delivered. It will be available for download in the Kindle Store, Tuesday, June 17.