Dashes , Parenthesis & Brackets -- ( ) [ ]

1. Whitney Conway Dashes,Parenthesis&Brackets--( )[ ]

2. --Dashes-- • A. Use a dash to set off a word or phrase that is not essential to the main idea in order to emphasize. • Use a dash to draw attention to parenthetical information, to prepare for changes in tone, or to introduce or emphasize information. • Ex. “The care-takers—those who are helpers, nurturers, teachers, mothers— arestill systematically devalued.” *Ellen Goodman • Note: Commas or parentheses can also be used in place of dashes. However, they do not provide the same importance or urgency.

3. Everything about the book -- especially the part where she leaves him -- is incredibly emotional. • Emphasizes the most emotional part • He took a deep breath, began to run toward the door -- and collapsed just a few feet before he reached it. • Change of tone (notice the list) • How do the dashes impact the meaning? • Try it on your own!

4. (PARENTHESES) • Use parentheses to set off extra material, digressions, or afterthoughts. • As opposed to dashes, parentheses de-emphasize material. • Still use them to off-set information or enclose interrupting words. • Ex. “The sheer decibel level of the noise around us is not enough to make us cranky, irritable, or aggressive. (It can, however, affect our mental and physical health, which is another matter.) —Maya Angelou

5. After her eggs, bacon, and coffee (her usual breakfast), she leaves for work. • Afterthought (not important information) • My mother tolerates (i.e. hates) my nose piercing. • Does this emphasize the true feeling? • Yes! But it interrupts the sentence with a juxtaposing idea • How do we read the sentence (at what pace)? • Try it on your own!

6. [BRACKETS] • Brackets are used to enclose: words that you add to a direct quotation or changes that you have made to it • Ex: In Slaughterhouse-Five, " he [Billy] is in a constant state of stage fright, he says, because he never knows what part of his life he is going to have to act in next.“ • If there is an error in the original quotation, the word sic appears in brackets after the word containing the error. • Ex. A journalist wrote the judge and he accepted an [sic] plea of not guilty. • Paraphrasing quotations helps eliminate the need for this use of brackets.

7. Original Source: • “Current research shows that successful learning takes place in an active environment.” • Deborah Moore Quotation With Brackets: • Deborah Moore supports a student-centered curriculum and agrees with “current research [which] shows that successful learning takes place in an active environment.”

8. Write a story about a watchful reindeer who swims with sharks and parachutes off of sky scrapers. Your addition to this story needs to include a dash, parentheses, or brackets. __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

9. References • http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/HyphensDahsesParenthesesBracketsJuly08_000.pdf • http://www.swarthmore.edu/academics/writing-program/student-resources/grammar-and-punctuation-guide/dashes-parentheses-brackets-ellipses.xml • http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/adventure-writing-prompts/