---
pattern: 13
type: success
name: Em Dash Overuse
pack: en-style
language: en
---

# Pattern 13: Em Dash Overuse — Success

## Input Text

> The mayor — who took office last January — announced a new transit plan — one that would add three bus routes — to connect the east side with downtown. Residents — many of whom rely on public transit — said the changes — if funded — could cut their commute by 20 minutes.

## Expected Output

> The mayor, who took office last January, announced a plan to add three bus routes connecting the east side with downtown. Residents who rely on public transit said the changes could cut their commute by 20 minutes if the city secures funding.

## Applied Pattern

- Pattern 13 (Em Dash Overuse): Seven em dashes in two sentences, used for parenthetical asides, clause breaks, and conditional insertions. Every interruption uses the same punctuation mark.

## Judgment

**Success** — The fire condition is met: 7 em dashes far exceeds the 3+ threshold. The dashes are used uniformly for every parenthetical and aside, creating a choppy, mechanical rhythm. The corrected version varies the alternatives: commas for some parentheticals, subordinate clauses for others, and a conditional phrase restructured as a trailing clause.
