We’ve touched on the topic of brackets in writing at different times along the way. We also continue to receive occasional questions about their use from our readers.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, we thought it would be a good time for a current review of brackets by gathering guidelines we’ve shared both on our website and in The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Please note that these guidelines apply to daily formal writing but are not an all-encompassing discussion of every possible aspect of them.)<\/p>\n We will typically use brackets much less often than we do parentheses<\/a>, their most closely related punctuation marks. The following are instances in which we would include brackets in our writing.<\/p>\n 1) As additive interruptions to originally quoted material.<\/strong> The information in the brackets informs the reader that someone other than the original source has amended the quote to further explain, clarify, or comment on it.<\/p>\n Original<\/strong>: “Twenty boxes are too many to just pour out,” the lunch assistant said. Original<\/strong>: “Mary waved goodbye to Bridgette.” 2) When quoting something with a spelling or grammar mistake or material presented in a confusing way.<\/strong> As a matter of journalistic integrity, when writers are quoting someone, the quotation should remain intact as written or spoken, even if the source is incorrect.<\/p>\n In these instances, we can insert the term\u00a0sic<\/em><\/a> (Latin for “so,” “thus”) in italics right after the text in question and enclose it in nonitalic brackets [sic<\/em>] unless the surrounding quote is in italics (as well as possibly other content). The insertion of [sic<\/em>] lets the reader know the quote is verbatim from the source, including what may be incorrect.<\/p>\n While we favor the treatment of sic<\/em> as italicized in nonitalicized brackets, some writers might present it without italicizing the word or the brackets: [sic]. The Chicago Manual of Style<\/em>\u00a0favors italicizing sic<\/em> in nonitalicized brackets.<\/p>\n Italicized sic, nonitalicized brackets:<\/strong> “I haven’t heard something like that since World War II ended in 1946 [sic<\/em>],” Joe Button Sr. said. (World War II ended in 1945.)<\/p>\n Quote and content all in italics:<\/strong> “I haven’t heard something like that since World War II ended in 1946 [sic],” Joe Button Sr. said.<\/em> (The brackets and sic are italicized with the rest of the quote and content.)<\/p>\n Nonitalicized sic, nonitalicized brackets:<\/strong> “I haven’t heard something like that since World War II ended in 1946 [sic],” Joe Button Sr. said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Note that we should include [sic<\/em>] after something quoted only when we intuit readers will doubt it as presented.\u00a0We should not use [sic<\/em>] to emphasize what appears incorrect but is intentionally applied. For example, the Chik-fil-A restaurant chain has a slogan that reads “Eat Mor Chikin” as painted by a cow. If we are quoting the slogan, inserting [sic<\/em>] would be unnecessary because most people can understand it as word play.<\/p>\n Similarly, quoting writing or speech from different U.S. regions<\/a> will often allow for variations in dialect, which could include alternate spellings, expressions, and contractions. In these cases, we should let those dialects stand unless they include evident inaccuracies.<\/p>\nWhen and How to Use Brackets<\/h2>\n
\nAmended<\/strong>: “Twenty boxes [of the milk powder] are too many to just pour out,” the lunch assistant said.<\/p>\n
\nAmended<\/strong>: “Mary waved goodbye to [her cousin] Bridgette.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n