Learn when and how to use parentheses in prose writing, and how to avoid overusing them. Find out how to replace parentheses with commas, dashes, or colons for different effects and purposes.
Parentheses: When to Use Parentheses in Writing (Examples)
Enclose Numbers or Letters. You can use parentheses to enclose numbers or letters when you're using them to show the order in your text. For example: To unlock the screen, (1) press the power button, (2) swipe the screen with your finger and (3) enter your pin code.
When to Use Parentheses and How to Use Them Correctly
When to use parentheses. The No. 1 rule you need to remember is to use parentheses sparingly. AP Stylebook puts it best: "Parentheses are jarring to the reader.". Like a whisper, they can become too distracting. Even so, there are some instances when parentheses will be necessary. Take a look.
Parentheses ()
APA style recommends using a single set of parentheses with a semicolon separating the main elements. The results were sorted by gross domestic product (GDP; Odin, 2018). Chicago also advises this approach, but allows side-by-side parentheses if their content is entirely unrelated. If you do use two sets of parentheses, put a space between them.
Parentheses
Parentheses. Parentheses ( ) are used to enclose nonessential or supplemental information in a sentence. Parentheses are always used in pairs; you must have both an opening and a closing parenthesis. In formal academic writing, it is a good practice to use parentheses sparingly. Before including parentheses, check to see if they are essential.
How and When to Use Parentheses ~ Writing Simplified
Use Parentheses to Enclose Dates. When including the dates for a person or event, place them in parentheses immediately to the right of the person or event they refer to. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) is one of my favorite poets. Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) is an inspiration to aspiring authors everywhere.
Parentheses
Parentheses Basics. Parentheses are punctuation marks used to set off information within a sentence. There are several uses for parentheses that are particular to APA style: To refer to tables or figures. Use parentheses to encase referrals to tables or figures. Example: Cub Foods sells twice as many gluten-free products as their competitors ...
Parentheses in Writing: What They Are and How to Use Them
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, you can use parentheses to include citations, corrections, and context in a sentence. They can also include dates, and citations should feature the author's last name, the date they were published, and the page number. The APA Style generally doesn't allow for context adding information within ...
Dashes and Parentheses
Dashes and parentheses indicate an "aside" to the point you are making in your sentence. Although sometimes considered interchangeable, each serves a specific purpose in your writing. Dashes interrupt your writing to insert an interjection or pause, while parentheses gently add information to your point. A word of caution: although parentheses can be used throughout all writing genres ...
Parentheses
Parentheses. Parentheses are most often used to identify material that acts as an aside (such as this brief comment) or to add incidental information. Use them sparingly in academic prose: generally, your essay should be tightly enough written that material either belongs because it is central, or does not belong in there at all.
How to Use Parentheses in Writing
Two parentheses, ( ), are generally paired and used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing. Parentheses indicate an interrupting phrase , a word group (a statement, question, or exclamation) that interrupts the flow of a sentence and can also be set off with commas or dashes . The parenthesis is a type of bracket, which when ...
Can You Put Parentheses Inside Parentheses?
Parentheses Within Parentheses. Double parentheses in writing are a common issue I see all the time. For instance, within a parenthetical element that cites your source, you might want to include another parenthetical element like an abbreviation. Fortunately, you can set off material from another parenthetical material using a different ...
Punctuation Marks: Parentheses
Punctuation marks: parentheses. Parentheses are among the most useful and versatile punctuation marks in the English language. They can be used effectively in both formal and casual writing, and the rules surrounding parentheses allow writers to use them for a variety of purposes. They just might be my favorite punctuation marks, simply because ...
Parentheses
The Classroom Performance System (CPS) is a student response system developed by eInstruction. Parentheticals refer to parentheses, dashes, and brackets, each of which has different possible functions in a sentence. None of these are frequently used in formal writing. Parentheses ( ) usually indicate a full interruption in thought.
PDF Parentheses
Parentheses The most common use of parentheses in academic writing is citing information from external sources. A parenthetical usually comes at the end of the sentence or right before a comma. In this case, where the material within the parentheses isn't a complete sentence, the punctuation goes outside the parentheses.
Parentheses and Brackets
Parentheses and Brackets. Parentheses (the round ones) and brackets [the square ones] might look like headphones for words, but actually, both are used to insert text into other text. That said, although they occasionally work together, their functions are mostly quite different.
Punctuation Tips: Parenthesis
Parenthetical offset using dashes increases the focus on the parenthesis. We tend to find dashes in fiction writing; however, they can also be used in quotations. You would use either an en or em dash to offset a parenthesis. An en dash (-) uses a punctuation mark longer than a hyphen (-). An em dash (—) is a slightly longer punctuation ...
Parentheses
Use parentheses when you think that readers may benefit from a brief definition or restatement of a word. Such parenthetical text can be a good idea when a word has many possible different definitions, or when you are using a discipline-specific word with an audience who may not be familiar with it. The following example illustrates not only a ...
How To Use Parentheses: Your Go-To Guide
The best way to make sure your sentence is correct without the parentheses is to read the sentence and ignore the content in the parentheses. If the sentence makes sense, then it can stand as is. For example, here's a correct and incorrect usage of parentheses: Correct: Mia had to take her dog (a grey pitbull) to the vet.
How and When To Use Parentheses ( )
Understanding when to use parentheses is a key factor in proper punctuation. Become a grammar expert and learn how to use parentheses the right way.
What is the correct way to use parentheses?
Use parentheses. to set off structurally independent elements. Examples: The patterns were significant (see Figure 5). (When a complete sentence is enclosed in parentheses, place punctuation in the sentence inside the parentheses, like this.) If only part of a sentence is enclosed in parentheses (like this), place punctuation outside the ...
Using parentheses and brackets in APA Style references
Choosing parentheses or brackets. In general, to determine whether to use parentheses or brackets in a reference, look at the template and reference example in the Publication Manual for the type of work you want to cite. When both parentheses and brackets are present, place the parenthetical information first and the bracketed description second.
Parentheses
Parentheses. Parentheses (singular parenthesis) are felt to be stronger than a comma and similar in weight to an m-dash (—). Parentheses are sometimes called 'round brackets'. Other punctuation can sometimes be substituted for parenthesis, including. Commas can be used to show an aside to show somewhat less emphasis than parentheses.
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Learn when and how to use parentheses in prose writing, and how to avoid overusing them. Find out how to replace parentheses with commas, dashes, or colons for different effects and purposes.
Enclose Numbers or Letters. You can use parentheses to enclose numbers or letters when you're using them to show the order in your text. For example: To unlock the screen, (1) press the power button, (2) swipe the screen with your finger and (3) enter your pin code.
When to use parentheses. The No. 1 rule you need to remember is to use parentheses sparingly. AP Stylebook puts it best: "Parentheses are jarring to the reader.". Like a whisper, they can become too distracting. Even so, there are some instances when parentheses will be necessary. Take a look.
APA style recommends using a single set of parentheses with a semicolon separating the main elements. The results were sorted by gross domestic product (GDP; Odin, 2018). Chicago also advises this approach, but allows side-by-side parentheses if their content is entirely unrelated. If you do use two sets of parentheses, put a space between them.
Parentheses. Parentheses ( ) are used to enclose nonessential or supplemental information in a sentence. Parentheses are always used in pairs; you must have both an opening and a closing parenthesis. In formal academic writing, it is a good practice to use parentheses sparingly. Before including parentheses, check to see if they are essential.
Use Parentheses to Enclose Dates. When including the dates for a person or event, place them in parentheses immediately to the right of the person or event they refer to. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) is one of my favorite poets. Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) is an inspiration to aspiring authors everywhere.
Parentheses Basics. Parentheses are punctuation marks used to set off information within a sentence. There are several uses for parentheses that are particular to APA style: To refer to tables or figures. Use parentheses to encase referrals to tables or figures. Example: Cub Foods sells twice as many gluten-free products as their competitors ...
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, you can use parentheses to include citations, corrections, and context in a sentence. They can also include dates, and citations should feature the author's last name, the date they were published, and the page number. The APA Style generally doesn't allow for context adding information within ...
Dashes and parentheses indicate an "aside" to the point you are making in your sentence. Although sometimes considered interchangeable, each serves a specific purpose in your writing. Dashes interrupt your writing to insert an interjection or pause, while parentheses gently add information to your point. A word of caution: although parentheses can be used throughout all writing genres ...
Parentheses. Parentheses are most often used to identify material that acts as an aside (such as this brief comment) or to add incidental information. Use them sparingly in academic prose: generally, your essay should be tightly enough written that material either belongs because it is central, or does not belong in there at all.
Two parentheses, ( ), are generally paired and used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing. Parentheses indicate an interrupting phrase , a word group (a statement, question, or exclamation) that interrupts the flow of a sentence and can also be set off with commas or dashes . The parenthesis is a type of bracket, which when ...
Parentheses Within Parentheses. Double parentheses in writing are a common issue I see all the time. For instance, within a parenthetical element that cites your source, you might want to include another parenthetical element like an abbreviation. Fortunately, you can set off material from another parenthetical material using a different ...
Punctuation marks: parentheses. Parentheses are among the most useful and versatile punctuation marks in the English language. They can be used effectively in both formal and casual writing, and the rules surrounding parentheses allow writers to use them for a variety of purposes. They just might be my favorite punctuation marks, simply because ...
The Classroom Performance System (CPS) is a student response system developed by eInstruction. Parentheticals refer to parentheses, dashes, and brackets, each of which has different possible functions in a sentence. None of these are frequently used in formal writing. Parentheses ( ) usually indicate a full interruption in thought.
Parentheses The most common use of parentheses in academic writing is citing information from external sources. A parenthetical usually comes at the end of the sentence or right before a comma. In this case, where the material within the parentheses isn't a complete sentence, the punctuation goes outside the parentheses.
Parentheses and Brackets. Parentheses (the round ones) and brackets [the square ones] might look like headphones for words, but actually, both are used to insert text into other text. That said, although they occasionally work together, their functions are mostly quite different.
Parenthetical offset using dashes increases the focus on the parenthesis. We tend to find dashes in fiction writing; however, they can also be used in quotations. You would use either an en or em dash to offset a parenthesis. An en dash (-) uses a punctuation mark longer than a hyphen (-). An em dash (—) is a slightly longer punctuation ...
Use parentheses when you think that readers may benefit from a brief definition or restatement of a word. Such parenthetical text can be a good idea when a word has many possible different definitions, or when you are using a discipline-specific word with an audience who may not be familiar with it. The following example illustrates not only a ...
The best way to make sure your sentence is correct without the parentheses is to read the sentence and ignore the content in the parentheses. If the sentence makes sense, then it can stand as is. For example, here's a correct and incorrect usage of parentheses: Correct: Mia had to take her dog (a grey pitbull) to the vet.
Understanding when to use parentheses is a key factor in proper punctuation. Become a grammar expert and learn how to use parentheses the right way.
Use parentheses. to set off structurally independent elements. Examples: The patterns were significant (see Figure 5). (When a complete sentence is enclosed in parentheses, place punctuation in the sentence inside the parentheses, like this.) If only part of a sentence is enclosed in parentheses (like this), place punctuation outside the ...
Choosing parentheses or brackets. In general, to determine whether to use parentheses or brackets in a reference, look at the template and reference example in the Publication Manual for the type of work you want to cite. When both parentheses and brackets are present, place the parenthetical information first and the bracketed description second.
Parentheses. Parentheses (singular parenthesis) are felt to be stronger than a comma and similar in weight to an m-dash (—). Parentheses are sometimes called 'round brackets'. Other punctuation can sometimes be substituted for parenthesis, including. Commas can be used to show an aside to show somewhat less emphasis than parentheses.