Punctuation

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When something is written in parenthesis or brackets, it is usually an explanation, an aside or some ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

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The Chihuahua (the smallest dog in the world) can fit into a teacup.

The Chihuahua, the smallest dog in the world, can fit into a teacup.

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It is often possible to use COMMAS or DASHES instead of brackets.

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The Chihuahua - the smallest dog in the world - can fit into a teacup.

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Grammar Braces Usage

The usage of grammar braces follows a special set of rules that are fairly easy to learn. Braces, also known as brackets or parentheses, can be round, square, curly, or angled

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In FORMAL WRITING, this punctuation mark has fairly limited usage, which is why the rules should be easy to learn.

For FORMAL WRITING, the brackets, braces, or parentheses can be used anywhere.
In both cases, the purpose of a brace, bracket or parenthesis is to set off any incidental or optional information or thoughts.

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How to Use Grammar Braces

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Braces, brackets and parentheses are each slightly different in style; but, they each follow similar rules, which is why they may often be used interchangeably.

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BRACES are also known as curly brackets "{ }".

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On a qwerty keyboard, the left and right curly braces are found on the same keys as the square brackets.

The only use for a brace in writing is when a writer presents or creates a list of equal choices for a reader or in a number set.

Examples:
Number set: {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12}
Equal choices: Choose a color {red, white, blue, pink} to paint the wall
Music chords: [ {c, e, g} {e, g, c2} {g, c2, e2} ]

Braces are mostly used in MUSIC or POETRY.

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Brackets

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The bracket can be square "[ ]" or angled "< >".

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SQUARE BRACKETS are especially important in academic writing because they add information to a quotation that does not appear in the original quotation. Since quotations must be presented exactly as they are found, a square bracket allows the writer to interject explanation or clarification within the quotation itself.

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For example, writers may need to change the tense of a verb to fit into the sentence or they may have found an error in the original quote. If writers want to add emphasis to words in the quote using bold or italic letters, this can be done and the explanatory note added in the square bracket.

Examples:
Misspelling in quotation: We received the following reply to our query: "Thank yo [sic] for the invitation, but I will be unable to attend this year."
Adding bold and italics to a quotation: "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it [bold and italics added]." Harry S. Truman

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Angled Brackets

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Angled brackets have limited usage in writing. They are only found in a reference page to denote a url address.

According to recent MLA changes, citations no longer call for urls in reference pages; so, the use of angled brackets is now optional.

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Parentheses
Parentheses "()" are also known as round brackets and have the most usage in English writing. Parentheses are used in sentences to:

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Add additional information
Provide information and detail that is helpful to have
An item placed in parentheses can often be set off using commas as well.
Examples:
The Three Musketeers ("Les Trois Mousquetaires" in French) was written by Alexandre Dumas.
Getting a patent (a right guaranteed by the constitution) can take several years to accomplish.

As demonstrated above, the usage of grammar braces in academic writing has specific purposes for each different kind of brace, bracket or parentheses.

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How to Use a Bracket in Grammar

Of the fourteen different punctuation marks in English, learning how to use a bracket in grammar should be one of the easiest.

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Punctuation marks are a basic part of English grammar and must be understood. This particular punctuation mark has very limited usage in academic writing.

Writers use brackets to ADD INFORMATION to a sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence. This means that the writer can add words if necessary to make the sentence read more clearly or add a correction or comment to quoted material.

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Parentheses or round brackets ( )

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The most commonly used bracket in English is the parentheses.

This pair of round brackets is used when a writer wants to ADD INFORMATION to a sentence that will give greater detail to the information presented. However, the INFORMATION IS EXTRA and not really necessary, which means that IT CAN BE REMOVED with ease and without damaging the original information. Items placed in parentheses can often be set off with commas as well.

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Sentence examples using parentheses:

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George Washington (the first president of the United States) gave his farewell address in 1796. (In this sentence, the parentheses is giving additional information about George Washington.)
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launched its first Mars probe (Viking I) back in 1976. (In this sentence, the parentheses is explaining what NASA stands for and giving additional information about the Mars probe.)

Task representations can sometimes differ between student and instructor (Flower, 1994) and even from novice student to more experienced student. (In this sentence, the information in parentheses is a citation for a book written in APA format. Similar types of line references are used other citation systems as well.)

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Square brackets ( [ ] ) have important usage in academic writing, especially when the writer needs to add information to a quotation. Normally, a quotation must be presented exactly as it was spoken or written.

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The square bracket allows the writer an opportunity to fix mistakes, add explanatory information, change a quote to fit in a sentence, or add emphasis to a word through bold or italics.

Similar to the parentheses, the information in the bracket cannot alter the meaning of the quoted material.

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Example of square bracket use in grammar:

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“Books used [in classes] show methods of finding information but not much information in preparation of the review [italics added]” (Libutti & Kopala, 1995, p. 15).

In this example, the words “in classes” do not appear in the original quotation but the writer wanted to add this information to make the sentence read more clearly. To add emphasis a set of words, italics were added by the writer that were not there in the original quote.

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Angled brackets ( < > )
Angled brackets have very limited use in writing. They primarily set off highlighted material. The most common use for angled brackets is for placing URL’s (Universal Resource Locator) into text.

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Examples of Angled brackets:
Fishman, Stephen M., and Lucille Parkinson McCarthy. John Dewey and the Challenge of Classroom Practice. The Practitioner Inquiry Series. New York Urbana, Ill.: Teachers College Press, National Council of Teachers of English, 1998. Web.

This is an example of an MLA citation. While MLA rules no longer require URLs to be presented due to their ever changing status, many professors may still require students to include the URL. If this is the case, then the web address needs to be set between a pair of angled brackets.

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Braces or curly brackets ( { } )
This mark has extremely limited usage and mostly for poetry or music.

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An exception to this would be if a writer wanted to create a list of items that are all equal choices.

Otherwise, this punctuation mark would not be used in academic writing.

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Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses

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Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further explanation or are considered a group.

At the bottom of each definition page, brackets surround a technical description of where the word originated.

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Parentheses (())

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are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks, according to yourDictionary.

However, parentheses CAN BE REPLACED BY COMMAS without changing the meaning in most cases.
For example: John and Jane ( who were actually half brother and sister ) both have red hair.

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Brackets ([ ])

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Brackets are the squared off notations ([ ]) used for technical explanations.

For example, yourDictionary.com uses them when you look up word

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Braces ({})

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According to yourDictionary.com, braces ({}) are used to contain “two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit.

” They are not commonplace in most writing, but can be seen in computer programming to show what should be contained within the same lines.

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Parenthesis examples:

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What won him the respect of General Jan C. Smuts, initially a vehement opponent?

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN LIKE THIS:

What won him the respect of General Jan C. Smuts (initially a vehement opponent)?

Notice where the question mark is placed at the end of that sentence – outside the brackets. Why?

In the answers, the phrase to be in parenthesis is shown first, and then the possible punctuation marks follow.

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Parenthesis examples:

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The world has never been short of reformers (according to the article).

Comma or dash after ‘reformers’, or phrase in brackets

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Parenthesis examples:

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Gandhi often undertook long fasts (to attract attention to his cause).

Comma or dash after ‘fasts’, or phrase in brackets

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Parenthesis examples:

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Gandhi, to attract attention to his cause, often undertook long fasts.

Commas, brackets or dashes

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Parenthesis examples:

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India (a very ancient country) became independent from Britain in 1948.

Commas, brackets or dashes

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Parenthesis examples:

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He (became because of his message of non-violence) a figure admired throughout the civilised world.

Commas, brackets or dashes

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Parenthesis examples:

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Men of vision can avoid violence in politics (if they wish to do so).

Comma or dash after ‘politics’, or the phrase in brackets

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Parenthesis examples:

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Ghandi’s policy of tolerance - admired all over the world - offended some of his countrymen.

Commas, dashes or brackets

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Parenthesis examples:

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What won him the respect of General Jan C. Smuts, initially a vehement opponent?

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN LIKE THIS:

What won him the respect of General Jan C. Smuts (initially a vehement opponent)?

Notice where the question mark is placed at the end of that sentence – outside the brackets. Why?

In the answers, the phrase to be in parenthesis is shown first, and then the possible punctuation marks follow.