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The Street City Church

9 Hania Street
PO Box 6218, Marion Square,
Wellington
Tel +64 4 385 7315
Fax +64 4 385 7309
Email office@thestreet.org.nz

You are here > Home / Styleguide / Brackets (parentheses)

Brackets (parentheses)

Use regular brackets (parentheses) to indicate a separate thought or expression within a sentence.

  • He taught on apologetics (one of the toughest topics there is) for 15 years.

Regular brackets can be used to offer an explanation or definition of a term or an acronym that is to be repeated within the text.

  • The Music Scholarship (Wellington’s largest and most prestigious entrance scholarship) was won by a student from Petone, Lower Hutt.
  • The Victoria University of Wellington Students Association (VUWSA) has honoured two students. This year’s student award recipients were announced by VUWSA officials at the spring meeting.

Use brace or square brackets within a direct quote to indicate words of explanation that are not actually part of the original quotation.

  • “Those enrolling in it [the master’s program] should know that the requirement is six full credits and a thesis,” said Professor Jones.

Avoid nested parentheses ([      ]) or square brackets inside round brackets, whenever possible.