Brackets are one among the 14 punctuation marks used in English and it is difficult to master as [brackets], {braces}, and (parenthesis) appear similar. Most often, parenthesis and brackets are mistakenly used interchangeably, but this creates a punctuation error and distorts your writing quality.
Brackets within quotes are used to simplify and explain things making the information clear to the readers. These words usually aren’t a part of the quote. Let us look at how and where to use the brackets along with knowing the basic difference between brackets and parentheses.
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How To Properly Use Brackets Within Quotes
Clarification: Brackets within quotes
Those are used to clarify the meaning of the words used in a quote.
Example – It [bluelight glasses] blocks the Bluelight from the screen and protects your eyes and helps you work fearlessly.
Here the words “Bluelight glasses” clarify the meaning of the pronoun “It”.
Explanation: Brackets within quotes
Those are used to explain certain terminology used in the quote.
Example – Home gardening [terrace gardening, balcony gardening, or backyard gardening] keeps you physically fit and has several health benefits.
Here the words in the bracket “terrace gardening, balcony gardening, or backyard gardening” are used to explain the segments that fall under the term “home gardening” so that the sentence can be explained clearly.
Emphasis
Brackets are used to create emphasis on specific words by using italics or bold phrases.
Example – “Lifestyle diseases share risk factors similar to prolonged exposure to three modifiable lifestyle behaviors – smoking, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity [Emphasis added].”
Here the words “smoking, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity” are used to create emphasis within the quote to show the importance of these words.
Translation
When a quote includes words in a different language, you can use brackets to explain the meaning of the words.
Example– Marc greeted Marie by saying “Bonjour Marie, Enchante. [Hello Marie, Nice to meet you]”.
Here the words in brackets “Hello Marie, nice to meet you” is the English translation of the French version “Bonjour Marie, Enchante”.
Indicating Error
When some word in a quote has an error, use “sic” brackets. “Sic” indicates that the writer hasn’t written mistakes, but the quote itself has some errors.
Example– “The beauty industry generating [sic] over $100 billion in revenue worldwide.”
Here the word “generates” should be used instead of “generating” but instead “sic’” is used within brackets to indicate that “generating” isn’t written mistakenly by the writer, but is instilled within the quote.
Capitalization of Words
Use brackets within quotes when you are altering the capitalization of the letters while changing the sentence form.
Example – “Food and fiber productivity raised due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization, and government policies that favored maximizing production”- (Abubakar and Attanda)
Let us look at how we can integrate brackets for altering letter case – According to Abubakar and Attanda, “[f]ood and fiber productivity raised due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization, and government policies that favored maximizing production”
Here, the word “food” is written as it alters the capitalization from the original quotation.
Change in Tense
You can use brackets to change the tense of the phrase used within quotes.
Example– “Harry and Dan have been working rigorously on the project.”
This sentence can be altered into present tense- “Harry and Dan [are] working rigorously on the project.”
Here, the word “are” represents the present tense and is replaced with “have been” in this example.
Brackets vs. Parenthesis
| Brackets | Parenthesis |
|---|---|
| They are indicated as square brackets [ ] | They are indicated as round brackets ( ) |
| Used to explain some words within the quote to convey clarity | Used to add additional information to the quote |
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