Which punctuation feature is overused by AI writing?

• A. Periods at sentence ends
• B. Em dashes
• C. Commas
• D. Question marks

Answer: (B)

Em dashes are overused because they give a quick, dramatic pause that many AI writers lean on to insert interruptions, emphasis, or tangential thoughts. The dash is flexible: it can replace commas, parentheses, or even a colon to create a brisk, conversational rhythm. As a result, models trained on large text corpora end up sprinkling them frequently to control pace and emphasis, even when a simpler punctuation mark would be better.

For example, a sentence might read: The result—surprising though it was—changed everything. The dash here creates an abrupt break and emphasis that a comma or parentheses would handle more quietly. While em dashes can be effective in moderation, overusing them makes writing feel choppier and less clear.

Periods, commas, and question marks each have a straightforward, conventional role, so they aren’t singled out as being overused in the same way.