Strunk and White on colons, commas, semicolons, dashes, and parentheses

“The colon has more effect than the comma, less power to separate than the semicolon, and more formality than the dash.”

“A dash is a mark of separation stronger than the comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses.”
— Strunk and White (2000)

Notice how the two statements are consistent with respect to relative formality and power to separate.

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