BRACKETS [ ]

Use brackets to enclose additions to quoted material. These additions, made by editors or writers, usually clarify or comment on the material.

Example:

- “Mark Twain said it [the river] taught him all he ever knew about life.”

- Virginia Woolf lived with him [Lytton Strachey] while recovering from her illness.”

- “There were few Esquimouxs [sic] living in the region we explored.”

NOTE: Brackets are also used to enclose material that falls within material already enclosed by parentheses.

Example: The fall sales records are encouraging (see page 33, Monthly Sales [Table 2.1] for a detailed breakdown by product line).