{"id":195,"date":"2016-08-08T20:53:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T20:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/?post_type=chapter&p=195"},"modified":"2023-07-26T17:09:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T17:09:52","slug":"brackets","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-guidetowriting\/chapter\/brackets\/","title":{"raw":"Editorial Brackets","rendered":"Editorial Brackets"},"content":{"raw":"\"anThe main use of editorial brackets is in quotations, where they can be used to clarify information that you lose when you take the quotation out of its original context. Here's a brief passage:\r\n

In June, 1992, the California Attorney General's office accused the Sears Company of overcharging on automobile repairs. By way of excuse for their errors, Sears ran newspaper advertisements that stressed the huge number of repairs performed annually.<\/p>\r\nHowever, in your essay, you only want to quote the second sentence, where \"their errors\" has no clear definition. In order to do this, you could write the following:\u00a0\"By way of excuse for their [overcharging], Sears ran newspaper advertisements that stressed the huge number of repairs performed annually.\"\r\n\r\nThe brackets let the reader know that while the word overcharging<\/em>\u00a0wasn't specifically in the wording in the original quotation, you are confident that it was implied there.\r\n

When using editorial brackets, therefore, you need to be careful not to change the original meaning of the quotation.<\/div>\r\nAnother use of brackets is when there is a spelling or informational error in the original quotation, as in,\u00a0\"To disengage gears, fist [sic] lock the mechanism.\" \u00a0The term sic<\/em>\u00a0means that the typo was in the original source of this quotation. More technically, sic<\/em> indicates that the reader should trust the accuracy of the quotation even though it looks like it contains an error; one obvious side effect is that if you insert\u00a0sic<\/em>, it shows that the error was the original writer's doing, not yours.\r\n
\r\n

Practice<\/h3>\r\nRead the following passages.\u00a0Imagine you want to quote the numbered sentences. Each sentence would appear separately.\u00a0Use editorial brackets if you think they are necessary to indicate the clearest way to present each sentence to a reader who isn't able to see the whole passage.\r\n

(1) Mount Vesuivus is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 5.6 mi east of Naples and a short distance from the shore.<\/p>\r\n

(2)\u00a0It\u00a0consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.<\/p>\r\n

(3) Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in CE\u00a079 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other settlements.<\/p>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"510117\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"510117\"]\r\n

    \r\n \t
  1. Mont Vesuivus [sic] is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 5.6 mi east of Naples and a short distance from the shore.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. [Mount Vesuvius] consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. This quotation would not need any brackets.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

    \"anThe main use of editorial brackets is in quotations, where they can be used to clarify information that you lose when you take the quotation out of its original context. Here’s a brief passage:<\/p>\n

    In June, 1992, the California Attorney General’s office accused the Sears Company of overcharging on automobile repairs. By way of excuse for their errors, Sears ran newspaper advertisements that stressed the huge number of repairs performed annually.<\/p>\n

    However, in your essay, you only want to quote the second sentence, where “their errors” has no clear definition. In order to do this, you could write the following:\u00a0“By way of excuse for their [overcharging], Sears ran newspaper advertisements that stressed the huge number of repairs performed annually.”<\/p>\n

    The brackets let the reader know that while the word overcharging<\/em>\u00a0wasn’t specifically in the wording in the original quotation, you are confident that it was implied there.<\/p>\n

    When using editorial brackets, therefore, you need to be careful not to change the original meaning of the quotation.<\/div>\n

    Another use of brackets is when there is a spelling or informational error in the original quotation, as in,\u00a0“To disengage gears, fist [sic] lock the mechanism.” \u00a0The term sic<\/em>\u00a0means that the typo was in the original source of this quotation. More technically, sic<\/em> indicates that the reader should trust the accuracy of the quotation even though it looks like it contains an error; one obvious side effect is that if you insert\u00a0sic<\/em>, it shows that the error was the original writer’s doing, not yours.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Practice<\/h3>\n

    Read the following passages.\u00a0Imagine you want to quote the numbered sentences. Each sentence would appear separately.\u00a0Use editorial brackets if you think they are necessary to indicate the clearest way to present each sentence to a reader who isn’t able to see the whole passage.<\/p>\n

    (1) Mount Vesuivus is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 5.6 mi east of Naples and a short distance from the shore.<\/p>\n

    (2)\u00a0It\u00a0consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.<\/p>\n

    (3) Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in CE\u00a079 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other settlements.<\/p>\n