Academic Writing Tip: No Parentheses, Please...

Have you ever wondered about parentheses? (I know parentheses ponderings keep you up at night, right? Well, even if they don't, read on. This could be interesting...and even make you look smarter than you already are.)

While teaching an online writing class today, a student said, "In academic writing, you've told us that we can't use parentheses. Why?"

I had only one answer: Because that's the way it is. I felt like a mom with her kid pulling at the sleeve: "Please, please can I have these two little parentheses?" "No, you can't have parentheses, because we don't have parentheses before dinner. It will spoil your appetite for academic writing...."

I know...silly analogy. Anyway...

It's true. We simply don't use parentheses in academic and upper-level writing. Remember, upper-level writing can mean anything written to your boss at work or in a letter to the editor...so think beyond school to the broad definition of academic, if you will. Then post a sign: No Parentheses Allowed.

That's right. Parentheses are informal. In academia or work-land, we don our fancy duds and go formal.

Are there any exceptions? Yes. You can use parentheses when using an acronym. An acronym is the word or letter group formed by the first initials of the words in a title, name, or phrase (for example, National Aeronautics Space Administration becomes NASA). Always write out the full words first; then use the acronym afterward, like so: National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). From that point forward, you don't have to write out the whole title. Simply write NASA.

In all other cases, leave the parentheses out.

Well, then--What to do? The answer: Use commas in place of the parentheses.
Here are a few examples of how that works:

WRONG: Mr. Smith (the administrator dealing with the issue) has the support of his colleagues.
RIGHT: Mr. Smith, the administrator dealing with the issue, has the support of his colleagues.
ANOTHER RIGHT: The administrator dealing with the issue, Mr. Smith, has the support of his colleagues.
AND ANOTHER RIGHT: Mr. Smith is the administrator dealing with the issue; Smith's colleagues stand behind him in full support.

And there are more "right ways" to write the sentence. Take your pick. In Academialand, there are many right ways to write. I love that.

More tips later....

Cheers,
Erin