Square brackets

Usage in journalism

Square bracketsalso called crotchets or simply brackets (US)are mainly

used to insert explanatory material or to mark where a passage was omitted from
an original material by someone other than the original author, or to mark
modifications in quotations.[15]

A bracketed ellipsis, [], is often used to indicate omitted material: "I'd like to
thank [several unimportant people] for their tolerance [...]"[16] Bracketed
comments inserted into a quote indicate when the original has been modified for
clarity: "I appreciate it [the honor], but I must refuse", and "the future of psionics
[see definition] is in doubt". Or one can quote the original statement "I hate to do
laundry" with a (sometimes grammatical) modification inserted: He "hate[s] to do
laundry".

Additionally, a small letter can be replaced by a capital one, when the beginning
of the original text is omitted for succinctness, for example, when referring to a
verbose original: "To the extent that policymakers and elite opinion in general
have made use of economic analysis at all, they have, as the saying goes, done
so the way a drunkard uses a lamppost: for support, not illumination", it can be
quoted succinctly as: "[P]olicymakers (...) made use of economic analysis (...) the
way a drunkard uses a lamppost: for support, not illumination." When nested
parentheses are needed, brackets are used as a substitute for the inner pair of
parentheses within the outer pair.[17] When deeper levels of nesting are needed,
convention is to alternate between parentheses and brackets at each level.

Alternatively, empty square brackets can also indicate omitted material, usually
single letter only. The original "Reading is also a process and it also changes
you." can be rewritten in a quote as: It has been suggested that reading can "also
change[] you".

The bracketed expression "[sic]" is used after a quote or reprinted text to indicate
the passage appears exactly as in the original source, where it may otherwise
appear that a mistake has been made in reproduction.

In translated works, brackets are used to signify the same word or phrase in the
original language to avoid ambiguity.[18] For example: He is trained in the way of
the open hand [karate].

1
Law

Brackets are used in some countries in the citation of law reports to identify
parallel citations to non-official reporters. For example: Chronicle Pub. Co. v.
Superior Court, (1998) 54 Cal.2d 548, [7 Cal.Rptr. 109]. In some other countries
(such as England and Wales), square brackets are used to indicate that the year
is part of the citation and parentheses are used to indicate the year the judgment
was given. For example, National Coal Board v England [1954] AC 403, is in the
1954 volume of the Appeal Cases reports although the decision may have been
given in 1953 or earlier, whereas (1954) 98 Sol Jo 176 reports a decision from
1954, in volume 98 of the Solicitor's Journal which may be published in 1955 or
later.

When quoted material is in any way altered, the alterations are enclosed in
brackets within the quotation. For example: Plaintiff asserts his cause is just,
stating, "[m]y causes is [sic] just." Although in the original quoted sentence the
word "my" was capitalized, it has been modified in the quotation and the change
signalled with brackets. Similarly, where the quotation contained a grammatical
error, the quoting author signalled that the error was in the original with "[sic]"
(Latin for 'thus'). (California Style Manual, section 4:59 (4th ed.))

____________________

15. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., The University of Chicago Press, 2003,
6.104
16. "Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and
hundreds more". bartleby.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008.
17. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., The University of Chicago Press, 2003,
6.102 and 6.106
18. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., The University of Chicago Press, 2003,
6.105

Fonte: Fonte: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket Acesso: 6.7.2017