15 Purposes for Parentheses

15 Purposes for Parentheses 15 Purposes for Parentheses 15 Purposes for Parentheses By Mark Nichol Parentheses are versatile tools for writers. These examples illustrate their uses; use them to enclose the following: Examples, directions, explanations, and clarifications: 1. â€Å"Retain ampersands when they appear as part of an official name (Barnes Noble, Ben Jerry’s).† 2. â€Å"At that point, you may want to consult with a professional. (Refer to the Resources chapter for a list of tax advisers.)† 3. â€Å"Here is a selective glossary of editing and production terms. (Synonyms are in italics; cross-referenced terms are in bold italics.)† 4. â€Å"Precede the dollar amount with the initials US only to avoid confusion (in, say, an article about Australia, where the basic unit of currency is also called the dollar).† Numerals that confirm a spelled-out number in a contract: 5. â€Å"The confirmation letter is due within thirty (30) days.† Abbreviations (usually) after the first reference to the full version of the term: 6. â€Å"The country’s import and export levels are regulated by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).† Note: If the abbreviation is well known or is used again within the next sentence or two after the full name, omit the parenthesized abbreviation immediately after it. Numbers or letters that distinguish items in a run-in list: 7. â€Å"The constituent parts are (1) the thingamajig, (2) the whatchamacallit, and (3) the whatsit.† Note: Sometimes, only the close parenthesis is used in this format. However, usually, neither numbers nor parentheses are necessary in such cases. Modifying words or phrases, or interjections: 8. â€Å"The writer will (one hopes) produce well-crafted prose.† 9. â€Å"It turns out that he had (gasp!) told the truth.† Translations, pronunciations, or equivalents: 10. â€Å"She ran from the kuma (bear).† 11. â€Å"Stay at the warung (wah-ROONG) near the mosque.† 12. â€Å"The distance from Marseille to Paris is 771 kilometers (479 miles).† The area code in a phone number or a unit in a mathematical or logical expression: 13. â€Å"(213) 867-5309† 14. â€Å"a(b) = c† In-text citations: 15. â€Å"However, the literature is ambivalent on this issue (Howard, Fine, and Howard 1925; Marx et al. 1912).† Punctuation in Parentheses A full sentence in parentheses is capitalized and is followed by a period preceding the closing parenthesis: â€Å"Have these resources on hand before you begin. (Items listed in parentheses are desirable but not essential.)† A partial sentence in parentheses is not capitalized and is not followed by a period but may precede a question mark or exclamation point: â€Å"Use a dark, fine-pointed pen (erasable pens allow for neat alteration) or pencil.† â€Å"Now that you’re finished (you are finished, aren’t you?), we will proceed.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:The Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetWoof or Weft?

Examples of Faulty Parallelism in English Grammar

Examples of Faulty Parallelism in English Grammar Faulty parallelism is one of the major grammatical sins in the English language. When you come across faulty parallelism, it clangs off the ear, destroys written sentences, and muddies any intention the author may have had. The previous sentence is an example of correct parallelism, but more on that below. Faulty Parallelism   Faulty parallelism is a construction in which two or more parts of a sentence are equivalent in meaning but not grammatically similar in form. By contrast, proper parallelism  is the placement of equal ideas in words, phrases, or clauses of similar types, notes  Prentice Hall, an education materials and textbook publisher. Properly crafted sentences match nouns with nouns,  verbs  with verbs, and phrases or  clauses  with similarly-constructed phrases or clauses. This will ensure that your sentences read smoothly, that the reader hones in on your meaning, and that they are not distracted by inequal parts. Faulty Parallelism  Examples The best way to learn what faulty parallelism is  -   and how to correct it  -   is to focus on an example. The company offers special college training to help hourly employees move into professional careers like engineering management, software development, service technicians, and sales trainees. Notice the faulty comparison of occupations (engineering management and software development) to people (service technicians and sales trainees).  To  avoid faulty parallelism, make certain that each element in a  series  is similar in form and structure to all others in the same series, as this corrected sentence demonstrates: The company offers special college training to help hourly employees move into professional careers like  engineering management, software development, technical services, and  sales. Note that all of the items in the series  -   engineering management, software development, technical services, and  sales  -   are now all the same because they are all examples of occupations. Faulty Parallelism in Lists You can also find faulty parallelism in lists. Just as in a series in a sentence, all items in a list must be alike. The list below is an example of faulty parallelism. Read it and see if you can determine what is incorrect about the way the list is constructed. We defined our purpose.Who is our audience?What should we do?Discuss findings.Our conclusions.Finally, recommendations. Notice that in this list, some items are full sentences starting with a subject, such as we for item 1 and who for 2. Two items, 2 and 3, are questions, but item 4 is a short, declarative sentence. Items 5 and 6, by contrast, are sentence fragments. Now take a look at the next example, which shows the same list but with a ​correct parallel structure: Define purpose.Analyze audience.Determine methodology.Discuss findings.Draw conclusions.Make recommendations. Notice that in this corrected example, each item begins with a verb (Define, Analyze, and Determine) followed by an object (purpose, audience, and methodology). This makes the list much easier to read because it is comparing like things using equivalent grammatical structure and punctuation: verb, noun, and period. Proper Parallel Structure In the opening paragraph of this article, the second sentence employs parallel structure correctly. If it had not, the sentence might have read: When you come across faulty parallelism, it clangs off the ear, it destroys written sentences, and the writer didnt make her meaning clear. In this sentence, the first two items in the series are essentially mini-sentences with the same grammatical structure: a subject (it), and an object or predicate (clangs off the ear and destroys written sentences). The third item, while still a mini-sentence, offers a different subject (author) who is actively doing something (or not doing something). You can correct this by rewriting the sentence as it is listed in the opening paragraph, or you can reconstruct it so that it serves as the subject for all three phases: When you come across faulty parallelism, it clangs off the ear, it destroys written sentences, and it muddies any intention the author may have had. You now have equivalent parts in this series: clangs off the ear, destroys written sentences, and muddies any intention. The verb-object repeats three times. By using parallel structure, you are building a sentence that is balanced, displays perfect harmony, and serves as music to the readers ear. Source Faulty Parallelism. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Behavioural Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Behavioural Finance - Essay Example The researcher states that behavioral finance examines how the human animal reacts in a financial system theoretically devoid of any emotions. This has been referred to in the past as ‘open-minded finance’ which is a generous expression implying that many investors often behave in a quite contradictory manner to the advice given them by their financial advisors. ‘Proponents of behavioral finance contend that people may not always be â€Å"rational,† but they are always â€Å"human.† Thus, behavioral finance exposes the irrationality of investors in general and shows human fallibility in competitive markets.’ To many, the idea of market efficiency itself goes out the window when the concept of human behavioral finance comes in. The experience of the stock market bubble has given impetus to the theory of behavioral finance, which places greater emphasis on human motivation and market inefficiency. Yet investment bankers and business people appear to put ever greater faith in the verdict of the stock market when making judgments that can have a big impact on output and employment. One of the major contributors over the past several decades to the amount of influence individual investor behavior has on the marketplace is the plethora of information and investment resources that are now available to the individual through access to the internet as well as the constant barrage of financial pundits in the various media channels. Stocks can also be traded instantaneously (via e-trade and the like) by individuals who may have little or no real insight into what they are playing at and may send a knee-jerk reaction that if analyzed more circumspectly they may have avoided. The rise of the Internet dramatically changed the way people make investment decisions†¦ For example, the Internet fosters active involvement by providing the medium for investment chat rooms, message boards, and newsgroups. Millions of people started invest ing online over the past several years. In the late 1990s and early 2000, a tremendous surge occurred in investor trading†¦ If this online investing behavior magnifies the investor's biases, then trading patterns in those accounts that are consistent with the behavioral predictions †¦ should surface. For example, online traders should exhibit signs of overconfidence, such as more frequent trading.