Square brackets are less common than round brackets. They are primarily used in three situations.
- Clarifications within quoted text
Use square brackets to set off a clarification within quoted text.
The Rector said of the coming budget debate: “Never in all my years as rector have I had to make such a difficult decision about such a useful programme [grants for young researchers] affecting so many”. - Optional or tentative text
Use square brackets to indicate text that is optional or still open to discussion. In the following example, the School of Education is responsible for implementing the project. What is optional or uncertain is whether the Office of External Relations will share that responsibility.The implementation of the project will be the [joint] responsibility of the School of Education [and the Office of External Relations]. - Brackets within brackets
Use square brackets to indicate parenthetical elements that are already in round brackets.A large multilateral organization (e.g., the World Bank [WB]) has the following characteristics…
Recommended citation:
«Square brackets» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2325> [consulta: 23 novembre 2024].