Punctuation marks are essential to give structure and meaning to our writing. One of these signs, many times Overshadowed by its more frequent companions such as the comma or the period, is the parenthesis. This guide will be dedicated to exploring the use of parentheses within texts, including in citations. Parentheses are an especially useful way to provide additional information, clarification, or an aside in a piece of text. However, its incorrect use can cause confusion or even completely change the meaning of what you are trying to express. Discover the guidelines you must follow to use this punctuation mark effectively and thus improve the quality of your writing.

Correct use of parentheses in general texts

The parenthesis They are punctuation marks that have countless uses and applications within writing. A frequent use is to introduce additional or complementary information to the main idea of ​​the text, but they are also used to incorporate examples, clarifications, specifications or quotes. Something to keep in mind is that, although the information inside the parentheses may be relevant, their removal should not alter the grammatical structure or the meaning of the sentence. For example: María (who has just arrived from a trip) is going to cook dinner. If we eliminate the information in parentheses, the sentence would still make sense: Mary is going to cook dinner.

As for the Dating, parentheses are primarily used to include the year of publication and the page from which the information was taken. This use is frequent in academic and scientific texts, in which it is crucial to give credit to the ideas and findings of other authors. The citation is written mentioning the author's last name, followed by the year of publication and the page, all separated by commas. For example: (González, 1998, p. 56). This detail helps readers identify the source and access it if they want to delve deeper into the topic. It is important to get involved with academic citation standards (APA, MLA, Chicago, among others) to fully understand how and when to use parentheses in citations. Additionally, let us always remember to maintain consistency in its use. throughout the text to guarantee the clarity and uniformity that all academic writing requires.

Recommendations for the use of parentheses in academic writing

In academic writing, parentheses are used to provide additional information or to introduce a brief explanation. These types of insertions can be additional data, clarifications or quotes that the author considers useful but that, at the same time, you don't want to interrupt the main flow of the text. Although parentheses can be very useful, it is also important not to overuse them, as otherwise they can make the text more difficult to read. Avoid using them to introduce important or fundamental ideas for your argument.

The correct use of parentheses in citations depends on the citation style that you are using. For example, in APA style, the citation should appear like this: (Last name, year). But if you are citing a specific phrase, you should include the page as well: (Last name, year, p. page number). In any case, remember that the information within parentheses must be relevant and concise. Here are some general guidelines on using parentheses:

• When you use parentheses in a sentence, don't forget that the final point It always comes after the parenthesis.
• If what is inside the parentheses is a complete sentence, the full stop goes inside the parentheses.
• Only use parentheses for information that is not essential to understanding the text.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them when using parentheses

Do not put a space before or after It is one of the most common mistakes when using parentheses. This can be particularly confusing when used within quotes. It is essential to remember that there should always be a space before the opening parenthesis, and after the closing parenthesis, especially when followed by another sentence. Another common confusion is do not close the parenthesis. Make sure each opening parenthesis has a corresponding closing parenthesis to avoid making this simple but common mistake.

• Incorrect example: "In this article (which I read recently)..."
• Correct example: "In this article (which I read recently)..."

Another common mistake is use too many parentheses inside parentheses. This can do make your text difficult to read and understand. Instead, try rewriting the sentence so it doesn't need as many parentheses, or use commas or hyphens to indicate additional information or clarification. Finally, be careful with use parentheses when they are not necessary. Sometimes writers include information in parentheses that would be more effective if presented as its own sentence or incorporated into the topic sentence of the text.

• Incorrect example: "Parentheses can (sometimes) (but not always) make text (like this) difficult to follow."
• Correct example: «Parentheses can sometimes make a text difficult to follow. However, this is not always the case."

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