AGLC4 Rule 1.6.4: Parentheses
Closing punctuation goes inside a closing parenthesis only when the entire sentence is within the parentheses.
AGLC4 page 23
Formatting
- A whole sentence in parentheses: the full stop sits inside the closing bracket.
- A parenthesis within a larger sentence: the sentence punctuation sits outside the closing bracket.
In the text
There can be no doubt of the importance of such a law. (That does not mean, of course, that its comparative merits cannot be debated.) [Not: … (That does not mean, of course, that its comparative merits cannot be debated).]
Not
Quoted from the Guide, page 23- … (That does not mean, of course, that its comparative merits cannot be debated).the whole sentence is inside the parentheses, so the full stop belongs inside
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Formats, examples, passages, tables and the forms marked Not are quoted from the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2018), with the page of the Guide they appear on. Titles, summaries and explanations are our own.