When you refer to any ranges in your thesis (in particular, page ranges for references in your reference list) be sure to use an en dash.
What's an En Dash?
You don't know?! Nor did I until I saw a marker criticise a student for not using one between page numbers in their reference list.
The en dash is longer than a hyphen, but shorter than an em dash.
Essentially there are two types of dash (to my knowledge!!!). The en dash is approximately the length of the letter N, and the em dash the length of the letter M.
The shorter en dash (–) is used to indicate a range of numbers or a span of time (e.g., 32–39)..
The longer em dash (—) is used to separate extra information or mark a break in a sentence. You may use it in a thesis, like this: (e.g., Studies—published and unpublished—are included).
Where Do I Find an En Dash?
On a Mac, the keyboard shortcut is Option + Shift + Dash (-).
On Windows, it is... less simple apparently:.. so som kind person might need to comment below. :)
The Main Takeway
The main takeaway is that an en dash is not the hyphen on your keyboard.
As I mentioned, I have seen markers critisize students for using a hyphen (e.g., 32-39) rather than an en dash (32–39). So before you submit your thesis, my tip is to cast your eyes down all of the page numbers in your reference list and make sure they consistently use an en dash.
Happy Researching!
Comments