WRITE GUD... YOU ARE WHAT YOU WRITE
by Neal Doten
Using (...) and [...] the right way!
If you want to witness a long, drawn-out debate, put a table and two chairs (one chair at each end of the table [not round]) in a room. Then, seat an English student in one chair and a Maths student in the other. Now, give the English student a piece of paper that says, "Convince the person across from you that brackets are used within parentheses." Give the Maths student a piece of paper that says, "Convince the person across from you that parentheses are used within brackets."
This is a very interesting disparity between English and Maths. If there is an explanation for the opposite uses, I would enjoy hearing it. Anyone out there know the answer?
It's not often that you will need to use parentheses (...) and brackets [...] together, but getting it right makes you look more professional on paper. As I've said before, the impression your writing makes may be the first (and only[?], last[?]) impression you make on someone important.
In the paragraphs above (i.e., paragraphs one and three), I have used parentheses and brackets together in their most common relationship. This relationship is based on two rules: (1) use parentheses to enclose a non-essential item in a sentence when the item is explanatory and independent of the main thought; and (2) use brackets to enclose the smaller parenthetical element that lies within the greater one. In simpler terms, if you want to say more about something that is already within parentheses, put that "extra something" in brackets.
There are many more uses for parentheses and brackets where they are not used together. Since knowing some of these will also improve your writing, let's look at a few.
Use parentheses to offset information that doesn't need the emphasis of dashes, or may be too confusing with the use of commas. Here are examples:
"By Christmas (and maybe long before) I should have paid all my debts."
"In an amazing coincidence of events, all three houses (Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, and Man o' War) burned down at the same time."
For students as well as business people, parentheses are very useful in setting off references. Examples of these references are:
"The geologic formations of the Abacos are discussed in more detail in Chapter 5. (See pages 12-15.)"
"In my last correspondence to you (see letter of 30 February attached), I indicated that you had sent a cheque in the wrong amount."
The last one I want you to consider involves numbered items within a sentence. Whenever you use this method for specifically listing items, remember to use a colon before you start your listing. Here's an example:
"Turtle farming requires certain conditions to be successful: (1) sufficient numbers returning to one location every year; (2) a means to protect the breeding area on the beach; and (3) an education programme describing the benefits to the local inhabitants."
As for brackets, there is one other time when brackets are commonly used. This involves placing a correction or an insertion in a quotation. Here is an example of a quotation from a political speech:
"If you put aside your differences, we can work together to overcome the problems that plague this island. [Applause] Support me with your vote in the coming election."
Time for dessert... Richard Lederer's Adventures of a Verbivore always seems to bring a smile (if not a chuckle, guffaw, or belly-laugh) to his readers. Here is a humorous look at the word "up":
"When we wind up our watch, we start it; when we wind up a meeting,
we stop it.... What bollixes up our language worse than anything else is
that 'up' can be downright misleading. A house doesn't really burn up;
it burns down... We don't pull up a chair; we pull it along. Most of us
don't add up a column of figures; we add them down. And why is it, pray
tell, that first we chop down a tree, and then we chop it up?"