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BracketsCreated by Ashley MassieApril 2012
Brackets vs. Parentheses
• Like parentheses, brackets are enclosures.
• Brackets have fewer and more specialized uses than parentheses.
• Brackets and parentheses are usually not interchangeable.
Use Brackets
• Use brackets to avoid the confusion caused by one set of parentheses falling within another.
• Turn the inner pair of parentheses into brackets.
Example:• Johnny went to the store
with his list of items (bread, milk [fat free], peanut butter, and jelly) but came home with only the bread.
1. As Parentheses Within Parentheses
Use Brackets
• In quoted material, use square brackets to indicate that a letter has been changed from uppercase to lowercase, or vice versa.
• To avoid awkwardness, consider rewording the sentence so that no change in capitalization is needed.
Example:This unusual animal was once believed to be a myth because “[s]keptics insisted that the duck-billed platypus was simply a duck bill sewn onto a beaver’s body” (35). (“Skeptics” changed to “skeptics”)
2. To Indicate Capitalization Changes in Quotes
Use Brackets
• Use brackets to show any changes made to quotations in order to retain grammatical correctness.
• Use brackets in quotes to add a word, prefix, or suffix in order to fit the quote into your sentence.
• Use brackets to change the tense of a verb in a quote so that it will fit into your sentence.
Examples:• I tried to make a dish mild enough
for everyone, but my idea of "add[ing] Cayenne pepper to taste" was not the same as my friend's idea. (“add” changed to “adding”)
• In Thomas Jefferson's time, there was definitely a notion that "A little rebellion now and then [was] a good thing.“ (“is” changed to “was”)
3. To Indicate Other Changes to Quotations
Use Brackets
• Use brackets to insert necessary information, comments, corrections, opinions, clarifications, or explanations of your own into direct quotations.
• Brackets are used within quotations to tell readers that the words enclosed are yours and not those of your source.
• Don’t overdo it! Readers will resent the explanation of obvious details.
• Do not use brackets when inserting additional information into your own writing. Use parentheses or dashes.
Examples:• “He [George Lucas] reminded me a
little of Walt Disney’s version of a mad scientist.”
• “Dues are being raised $1.00 per week [to $5.00],” the treasurer announced.
• “The miles of excellent trails are perfect for [cross-country] skiing.”
4. To Add Additional Information to Quotations
Use Brackets
• Quotations must be copied accurately, word by word, from your source—errors and all. To show that you have copied a passage faithfully, place the word sic (the Latin word for “thus” or “so”) in brackets one space after any mistake.
• APA and Turabian handbooks state that sic must be italicized within the brackets, while the MLA handbook does not specify.
• If sic can be placed outside the quotation itself, it appears between parentheses, not brackets.• Molly’s paper was titled “King Leer” (sic).
Examples:• Mr. Vincent’s letter went
on: “I would have preferred a younger bride, but I decided to marry the old window [sic] anyway.”
• The sign over the cash register read, “We don’t except [sic] personal checks for payment.”
5. To Acknowledge Errors in Quotations
Information gathered from…
• The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers, 5th Edition
• Hodges’ Harbrace Handbook, Thirteenth Edition
• Hodges’ Harbrace Handbook, Sixteenth Edition
• Writing: A College Handbook, 4th Edition• The Holt Handbook, Third Edition• MLA Handbook, 7th Edition• APA Handbook, 6th Edition
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