Using parentheses in an essay

In academic writing, they are most often used to convey technical information such as equations, to introduce acronyms, and for in-text citations. Sometimes you might need to use two parenthetical elements together – for example, when a sentence contains both an acronym and a citation.

Parentheses () are used to enclose nonessential or supplemental information in a sentence. Parentheses are always used in pairs; you must have both an opening and a closing parenthesis. In formal academic writing, it is a good practice to use parentheses sparingly. Before including parentheses, check to see if they are essential.

APA style recommends using a single set of parentheses with a semicolon separating the main elements. The results were sorted by gross domestic product (GDP; Odin, 2018). Chicago also advises this approach, but allows side-by-side parentheses if their content is entirely unrelated. If you do use two sets of parentheses, put a space between them.

Richard Nordquist is a freelance writer and former professor of English and Rhetoric who wrote college-level Grammar and Composition textbooks. Updated July 03, 2019. The parenthesis is a punctuation mark, which is written or typed as an upright curved line.