parenthetical

(noun)

A word or phrase within parentheses.

Examples of parenthetical in the following topics:

  • MLA: In-Text References (Parentheticals)

  • APA: In-Text References (Parentheticals)

  • Chicago/Turabian: In-Text References (Parentheticals)

  • MLA: In-Text Citations and Parentheticals

    • To cite this type of reference in the text, you should use what is known as a parenthetical—the citation information enclosed in parentheses—at the end of the relevant sentence.
    • The parenthetical should include simply the author’s last name (with no first or middle initial).
    • If you include the authors’ names in the parenthetical, use the word "and" between the two names.
    • If an author has multiple publications that you want to cite in the same sentence, include the author's name in a signal phrase and the titles of the referenced sources instead in the parentheticals:

  • The Importance of Citing Your Sources

    • This is an example of a parenthetical citation: Aldiss claims Erasmus Darwin was an influence on the Romantic poets who surrounded Mary Shelley, describing his thought as "seminal" (Aldiss, 13).
    • In-text citations come in two forms: the parenthetical, and the footnote (or endnote).
    • Parenthetical citations include the necessary information in parentheses after a sentence.
    • Parenthetical citations should include only enough information to direct the reader to the specific information you are citing.
    • The following is an example of a parenthetical citation:

  • Chicago/Turabian (Author–Date): In-Text References and Parentheticals

    • To cite this type of reference in the text, you should use what is known as a parenthetical—citation information enclosed in parentheses—at the end of the relevant sentence.
    • The parenthetical should include the author’s last name (with no first or middle initial) followed by the year the source was published.
    • If you include the authors’ names in the parenthetical, use the word "and" between the two names.

  • APA: In-Text Citations and Parentheticals

    • To cite this type of reference in the text, you should use what is known as a parenthetical—the citation information enclosed in parentheses—at the end of the relevant sentence.
    • The parenthetical should include the author’s last name (with no first or middle initial), followed by a comma, followed by the year the source was published.
    • If you include the authors’ names in the parenthetical, use an ampersand (&) between the two names.

  • Incorporating Your Sources Into Your Paper

    • You must reference the author or source in the appropriate parenthetical citation at the end of the summary.
    • While the use of quotation marks or parenthetical citations tells your reader that these are not your own words or ideas, you should follow the quote with a description, in your own terms, of what the quote says and why it is relevant to the purpose of your paper.

  • Chicago/Turabian: Tables and Figures

    • Include the same information, with the same formatting, as in a parenthetical citation—i.e., the author's last name and the page number.

  • Parentheses

    • This is not common in formal writing (though sometimes other brackets [especially square brackets] will be used for one or more inner set of parentheses [in other words, secondary {or even tertiary} phrases can be found within the main parenthetical sentence]).