39b. Parentheses

39bParentheses

Use parentheses to enclose supplemental material, minor digressions, and afterthoughts.

Nurses record patients’ vital signs (temperature, pulse, and blood pressure) several times a day.

Use parentheses to enclose letters or numbers labeling items in a series.

Regulations stipulated that only the following equipment could be used on the survival mission: (1) a knife, (2) thirty feet of parachute line, (3) a book of matches, (4) two ponchos, (5) an E tool, and (6) a signal flare.

tip: Rough drafts are likely to contain unnecessary parentheses.As writers head into a sentence, they often think of additional details, using parentheses to work them in as best they can. Such sentences usually can be revised to add the details without parentheses.

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