|
There are times (but not many) when brackets are a useful way of changing meaning. The reason brackets are not very helpful in business copywriting is that you are trying to get one strong message across.
Simply using brackets as in the sentence above can suggest that you need to consider more than one thing – there are times but not many of them. The sentence is weak because you immediately cast doubt on what you have just said. Your goal with all business copy is to make it feel as if only one course of action makes any sense.
Of course it is essential to use brackets if you're Introducing An Acronym (IAA) or if you are identifying the source of a piece of information (ACME Research, 2009).
They can also reinforce rather than shed doubt:
It was red (bright red).
Square brackets are used differently, especially in adjusting quoted text so that it makes sense in a new context:
He said, "While we want to help [our suppliers] we have not been paid."
|