Grade 6 – Punctuation

Information placed within parentheses in a sentence is interesting, but not crucial to the meaning of the sentence. Information in parentheses may clarify a point, make a commentary, or provide an afterthought, but is not information that needs to be emphasized. Dashes are best used to set off information that is not crucial, but emphasized.
Examples: Please deliver the packages to the back door (the one painted blue) between the hours of 10:00 and 2:00.
The most popular flavor of ice cream is vanilla (second is chocolate).
The new remote control car offers more features than any other (batteries are not included).