How to use brackets in writing

Additional information not critical to the sense or basic point of the sentence may be included by placing in brackets ( ), although, in formal writing, brackets are rarely employed, except for the purposes of in-text referencing.

Instances where brackets may be used include a comment, an example or further explanation:

* Comment - Raspberry was a very excitable dog (sometimes a little too excitable!), especially when visitors arrived at the front door.

* Explanation - On the night we arrived in Greece (back at the beginning of our trip), the sky was laden with stars.

* Examples - Our new neighbour's fear of all small insects (spiders, beetles, mosquitoes and cockroaches) became loudly obvious to us within just a few days.

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