Back to Assignment
Attempts Attempt1 score is4Attempt 2 was not attempted.-Attempt 3 was not attempted.-
Keep the Highest 4 out of 44 / 4
12 . Minor Marks of Punctuation - Parentheses and Dashes
Although they should be used sparingly, parentheses and dashes can add specificity and emphasis
to your writing.
Parentheses and Dashes
Getting Started: In the following section, you will see three versions of each sentence. Select the
sentence choice that shows correct use of dashes or parentheses.
Which sentence correctly uses parentheses?
My wife is from a small town (St. Ignatius) on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and she returns every
year to visit her family.
My wife is from a small town St. Ignatius on the (Flathead) Indian Reservation, and she returns every
year to visit her family.
My wife is from a small town St. Ignatius on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and she returns (every
year to visit) her family.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The correct sentence is "My wife is from a small town (St. Ignatius) on the Flathead Indian Reservation,
and she returns every year to visit her family." The name of the town, St. Ignatius, is not essential to
the meaning of the sentence—it is an added piece of information that gives more detail to a small
town. Therefore, the name of the town belongs in parentheses.
Which sentence correctly uses dashes?
Ndamukong Suh—the star of Nebraska's football team—will be a top pick in the NFL draft this year.
Rule: Use parentheses to enclose a word or
phrase that is related but not essential to the
meaning of the sentence.
Example: Paul ran into Don Shula (a football
coach he has idolized since childhood) at the
Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
Rule: Use a dash to emphasize a specific
part of a sentence, or to interrupt the
sentence with additional information.
Example: In the sport of noodling,
handfishers reach under rocks and into
underwater crevices to tempt catfish with a
very special bait—a human hand.
Ndamukong Suh—the star—of Nebraska's football team will be a top pick in the NFL draft this year.
Ndamukong Suh the star of Nebraska's football team—will be a top pick in the NFL draft this year.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The correct sentence is "Ndamukong Suh—the star of Nebraska's football team—will be a top pick in
the NFL draft this year." In this sentence, the phrase the star of Nebraska's football team provides
extra information about who Ndamukong Suh is. This information interrupts the main idea of the
sentence (that he will be a top draft pick).
Which sentence shows correct use of parentheses or dashes?
The management and staff at Sofie's Table have worked very hard in the past year and have finally
been awarded a "Best of Boston" certificate a very prestigious award for excellent restaurants—for the
quality of their food and service.
The management and staff at Sofie's Table have worked very hard in the past year and have finally
been awarded a ("Best of Boston") certificate a very prestigious award for excellent restaurants for the
quality of their food and service.
The management and staff at Sofie's Table have worked very hard in the past year and have finally
been awarded a "Best of Boston" certificate (a very prestigious award for excellent restaurants) for the
quality of their food and service.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The correct sentence is "The management and staff at Sofie's Table have worked very hard in the past
year and have finally been awarded a 'Best of Boston' certificate (a very prestigious award for
excellent restaurants) for the quality of their food and service." The parentheses in this sentence mark
off a piece of information that is interesting but not essential to the meaning of the sentence. You do
not need to know that the "Best of Boston" certificate is a very prestigious award for excellent
restaurants, but it adds more information to the sentence.
Applying Concepts: The passage that follows tells of the history of a popular sport. The paragraph is
missing dashes and parentheses. Carefully read the paragraph and select the blank lines to complete
the statements that follow.
A Brief History of Lacrosse
(1) Lacrosse one of the greatest games of all time has its origins in Native American
tradition. (2) Early explorers reported that Native Americans were playing a kind of lacrosse at the
time of first European contact. (3) Based on a variety of differing reports, it seems that there were
three different variations of the sport. (4) Southeastern cultures Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek,
Seminole, and others played a version of the game in which players held a 21/221/2 foot stick in
hand and used a small, soft deerskin ball. (5) In the cultures of the Great Lakes, players used one 3-
foot long stick and a wooden ball. (6) Finally, the Iroquoian and New England cultures used the longest
stick of the three generally more than 3 feet long that is most like present-day lacrosse
sticks. (7) French settlers first used the word lacrosse to name any generic game played with a curved
stick known as a crosse in French and a ball.
Source: Vennum, Thomas, Jr. USLacrosse. US Lacrosse, Inc., n.d. 24 Feb. 2010.
In sentence 1, a dash must appear before the wordError! Filename not specified.one and after the
wordError! Filename not specified.time to indicate the beginning and ending of an interruption in
the sentence.
Points:
1 / 1
In sentence 4, parentheses must appear before the wordError! Filename not specified.Cherokee
and after the wordError! Filename not specified.others to mark off information that is related but
not essential to the sentence.
Points:
1 / 1
In sentence 6, a dash must appear before the wordError! Filename not specified.generally and after
the wordError! Filename not specified.long to show a portion of the sentence that is an interruption,
providing only additional information.
Points:
1 / 1
In sentence 7, parentheses must surround the words Error! Filename not specified.known as a crosse
in French to indicate words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
(4) Southeastern tribes (Cherokee,
Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole,
Corrected Sentence
(1) Lacrosse—one of the greatest games
of all time—has its origins in Native
American tradition.
Explanation
In sentence 1, a dash must appear before the
word "one" and after the word "time" to indicate
the beginning and ending of an interruption in
the sentence. The phrase one of the greatest
games of all time adds additional information,
but it is not essential; it is only an interruption in
the sentence.
In sentence 4, parentheses must appear before
the word "Cherokee" and after the word "others"
(7) French settlers first used the
word lacrosse to name any generic game
played with a curved stick (known as a
"crosse" in French) and a ball.
Corrected Sentence
and others) played a version of the game
in which players held a 21/221/2 foot stick
in each hand and used a small, soft
deerskin ball.
(6) Finally, the Iroquoian and New
England tribes used the longest stick of
the three—generally more than 3
feet long—that is most like present-day
lacrosse sticks.
Explanation
to mark off information that is related, but not
essential to the sentence. The information
between the parentheses gives particular names
of tribes that are part of the Southeastern region.
In sentence 6, a dash must appear before the
word "generally" and after the word "long" to
show the portion of the sentence that is an
interruption, providing only additional
information. In this case, the interruption
provides more specific information about the
length of the stick.
In sentence 7, parentheses must surround the
words "known as a crosse in French" to indicate
words that are not essential to the meaning of the
sentence. The word crosse is a French word
meaning "a curved stick," and, while this
information is interesting, it does not change the
meaning of the sentence.
