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Brackets are used in quotations to mark added or altered
material.
• According to the expert,
“CFCs [chlorofluorocarbons] are a damaging pollutant.”
The writer explains what CFCs are in brackets.
• “‘I’m Henri’s sister,’ said [Claudette].”
The writer changes the exact quotation—“‘I’m Henri’s
sister,’ said she”—for clarity.
Try to alter quoted material as little as possible.
Use brackets to replace words only when absolutely necessary.
Capitalization Changes
In very formal writing, brackets are used to show that
capitalization has been changed. In most writing, it’s okay to simply
change capital letters at the beginning of quotations to lowercase.
For more on this, see Quotations.
• When the raft sank beneath the waves,
“[t]he people on shore gasped.”
Punctuation
Put punctuation marks outside of brackets, not inside
them.
• “Scared by the dog, Brett called out
to his mother [Judy Quinn].”
• “[Austen], for fear of seeming unladylike,
hid her writing whenever anyone entered the room.”
• “Imogen thinks the best park in the
world is New York’s [Central Park]; she visits it almost every week.”
• “‘Why do you say [you hate me]?’ asked
Tim.”
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