Parentheses (singular, parenthesis) work in pairs. So do brackets. Both surround bits of information to make a statement perfectly clear. An ellipsis mark is a trio of periods inserted to show that something has been cut.
Parentheses
| 27a | Use parentheses to set off interruptions that are useful but not essential |
FDR (as people called Franklin D. Roosevelt) won four elections.
He occupied the White House for so many years (1933 to mid-1945) that babies became teens without having known any other president.
The material within parentheses may be helpful, but it isn’t essential. Use parentheses to add a qualification, a helpful date, or a brief explanation — words that, in conversation, you might add in a changed tone of voice.
| 27b | Use parentheses around letters or numbers indicating items in a series |
Archimedes asserted that, given (1) a lever long enough, (2) a fulcrum, and (3) a place to stand, he could move the earth.
No parentheses are needed for numbers or letters in an indented list.
Brackets
Brackets, those open-ended typographical boxes, work in pairs like parentheses. Their special purpose is to mark changes in quoted material.
| 27c | Use brackets to add information or to make changes within a direct quotation |
For advice on quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, see Ch. 12, D3–D5 in the Quick Research Guide (pp. A-29–A-30), or Chs. 31 and 34 in A Writer’s Research Manual.
A quotation must be quoted exactly. If you add or alter a word or a phrase in a quotation from another writer, place brackets around your changes.
Suppose you are writing about James McGuire’s being named chairman of the board of directors of General Motors. In your source, the actual words are these: “A radio bulletin first brought the humble professor of philosophy the astounding news.” But in your paper, you want readers to know the professor’s identity. So you add that information, in brackets.
“A radio bulletin first brought the humble professor of philosophy [James McGuire] the astounding news.”
Never alter a quoted statement any more than you have to. Ask yourself: Do I really need this quotation, or should I paraphrase?
| 27d | Use brackets around sic to indicate an error in a direct quotation |
When you faithfully quote a statement that contains an error, follow the error with a bracketed sic (Latin for “so” or “so the writer says”). Usually you’re better off paraphrasing an error-riddled passage.
The book Cake Wrecks includes a photo of a cake with this message written on top in icing: Happy Thanksgiven [sic].
Ellipses
| 27e | Use ellipses to signal that you have omitted part of a quotation |
Occasionally you will want to quote just the parts of a passage that relate to your topic. Acknowledge your cuts with ellipses: three periods with a space between each one (...). If ellipses conclude a sentence, precede them with a period placed at the end of the sentence. Suppose you want to quote from Marie Winn’s book Children without Childhood (New York: Penguin, 1984) but omit some of its detail. Use ellipses to show each cut:
Quick Start
Send students on a punctuation scavenger hunt: ask them to find examples of parentheses, brackets, and ellipses in The Bedford Guide. What do these punctuation marks indicate in context?
According to Winn, children’s innocence can be easily lost: “Today’s nine- and ten-year-olds...not infrequently find themselves involved in their own parents’ complicated sex lives,...at least as advisers, friendly commentators, and intermediaries.”
| 27f | Avoid using ellipses at the beginning or end of a quotation |
For more on quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, see Ch. 12, D3–D5 in the Quick Research Guide, or Chs. 31 and 34 in A Writer’s Research Manual.
Even though a source continues after a quoted passage, you don’t need ellipses at the end of your quotation. Nor do you need to begin a quotation with three dots. Save the ellipses for words you omit inside whatever you quote. If you cut more than a section or two, think about paraphrasing.