H-68

Parentheses are useful for enclosing material — a word, a phrase, or even a complete sentence — that interrupts a sentence.

P8-a Add parentheses to enclose additions to a sentence.

Parentheses are useful for enclosing citations of research sources (following the format required by your style guide); for enclosing an acronym or abbreviation at first mention; for adding dates, definitions, illustrations, or other elaborations; and for numbering or lettering a list (always using a pair of marks).

Note: Use commas to separate the items in a numbered list. If the items include internal commas, use semicolons. (See P3-b.)

P8-b Correct the punctuation used with parentheses, and omit unnecessary parentheses.

When you add information in parentheses, the sentence should remain logical and complete, and the punctuation should be the same. Delete any comma before a parenthesis mark.

Parentheses are unnecessary if they enclose information that could simply be integrated into the sentence.