Style - Use Parentheticals

Give extra information in the MIDDLE of a sentence. For example:

• Cats are cute.
• Cats (a common pet) are cute

There are three ways:

• Dashes -
• Brackets (“parentheses”)
• Commas ,,

Just put one on each side of the extra information

• Cats – a common pet – are cute.
• Cats (a common pet) are cute.
• Cats, a common pet, are cute.

Remember you need TWO of them!

• Cats — a common pet are cute.
• Cats (a common pet are cute.
• Cats, a common pet are cute.

Do not use commas if you have commas already

• OK: The three disadvantages - A, B, and C - that this causes are a problem.
• OK: The three disadvantages (A, B, and C) that this causes are a problem.
• NO: The three disadvantages, A, B, and C, that this causes are a problem.

Careful with dashes

• Technically they’re not correct
• Read this (but be warned, most native English speakers don’t know or care about this)