ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English Language => Topic started by: /0 on July 23, 2009, 09:55:30 pm

Title: how to use brackets
Post by: /0 on July 23, 2009, 09:55:30 pm

What's the order of brackets?

Is it like "blah blah blah (but blah blah blah [and don't forget blah blah blah {because blah blah blah}])" ?

Title: Re: how to use brackets
Post by: Gloamglozer on July 24, 2009, 02:58:37 pm

That's what I though initially but when it comes to Maths, isn't it the other way?

For example in Maths, we go:

"123 + {213-[452 + (342+5431)]}"

So that makes me wonder which one is correct.

Title: Re: how to use brackets
Post by: mark_alec on July 24, 2009, 08:25:10 pm

There is no order. You nest parentheses as required, but you shouldn't need to often (as it isn't good structurally, unless you are trying to show why (like here! (or here! (now this is just pointless (I have a craving for some Scheme/Lisp))))).

Title: Re: how to use brackets
Post by: /0 on July 25, 2009, 12:28:52 am

lol ok! I have a fetish for brackets, they're everywhere in my essays

Title: Re: how to use brackets
Post by: Gloamglozer on July 25, 2009, 02:10:05 pm

What do you use brackets for in Language essays?

Title: Re: how to use brackets
Post by: shinny on July 25, 2009, 02:15:35 pm

Quote from: /0 on July 25, 2009, 12:28:52 am

lol ok! I have a fetish for brackets, they're everywhere in my essays

I'd tend to stay away from them in essays, but that's in mainstream English. Not sure about eng lang. The main problem with them is that they're really disruptive to the flow and expression of your essay, and especially when overused, feel almost as if someone is continuously interrupting and making commentary on the essay whilst you're trying to read the primary stream of it. Hyphens and semi-colons tended to work better for me.