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