Using Parentheses

Use parentheses ( ) to include material that doesn't normally fit into the flow of the text but you still want to include. If the parenthetical element is a complete sentence but is included inside another sentence, do not capitalize the first word of the sentence (unless it is a proper noun) or put a period at the end of the sentence. If the parenthetical element is not a part of another sentence, do capitalize the first word and add the appropriate ending punctuation. Also use parentheses to indicate in-text citations.

Space once before the opening parenthesis and after the closing parenthesis; however, do not space after the opening parenthesis or before the closing parenthesis.

1. Use parentheses to include information that doesn't necessarily fit into the text, but you would like to include anyway.

Ex. A: Under no circumstances should the package be left in the terminal (it was located to the right of the office building).

Ex. B: The holiday season had come and gone. (Don't you just hate when that happens?) Now there was nothing to look forward to except winter, winter, winter.

2. Use parentheses to mark in-text citations for common citation formats, such as MLA or APA.

Ex. A, MLA: "The Red River [of the North], one of the few rivers in the world that runs from south to north (the Nile is another) forms the border between Minnesota and North Dakota before it passes into Manitoba for the remainder of its course into Lake Winnipeg" (Schroth 30).

Ex. A, APA:  After navigating the Minnesota River from Minneapolis to Big Stone Lake on the South Dakota/Minnesota border, the boys crossed the continental divide into Lake Traverse (Schroth, 1995).

Note: Put t Notice that the citation comes after the quotation marks and before the ending punctuation in a short direct quotation. In a paraphrase, the citation still comes before the ending punctuation. In a long direct quotation, the citation comes after the ending punctuation.

MLA citation

Schroth, Raymond A. The American Journey of Eric Sevareid. South Royalton, VT:

Steerforth P, 1995.

APA citation

Schroth, R. A. (1995). The American journey of Eric Sevareid. South Royalton, VT:

Steerforth Press.

Return to Grammar and Punctuation or OWL.