Having settled into a new job in communications, I am faced with the issue of em dashes. Since I am quite partial to commas but my boss is more partial to em dashes, I can't help but wonder whether her usage isn’t incorrect.
I’ve done a bit of research on this, and I have found it’s most commonly used in emphasizing a thought. It can also be used to offset lists or at the end of an independent clause.
However, if I receive a sentence like this:
Dean London —a business unit of Centrell— have been supplying permeable products to Caramba Unit —a supplier of biological products — since 2009.
I would say that this usage is incorrect, and I would edit it to use commas because this is additional information that isn’t a separate thought needing emphasizing.
Another example:
This initiative —led by Dr. Reiv Nadar and integrated into Dean's research and design unit— intends to gather post-harvest disease control information.
Is the usage of em dashes in this instance correct, or would it be better to use commas?
Not sure whether the problem is actually just that I am confused about the correct usage of em dashes, but I figured you guys could help clarify those.
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