Square brackets

Words in square brackets are essential to the meaning of what is being written (which, again, explains the point about square brackets in the citation of journals and law reports). One common use of square brackets is to make a quotation meaningful. For example, a judge who has heard a large number of witnesses, including the claimant’s husband and son, may say, ‘I did not believe either of the claimant’s first two witnesses’. Unless you know who these witnesses were and their place in the succession of witnesses, this conveys practically nothing. Therefore, in writing, you would say:

The judge said, ‘I did not believe [the claimant’s husband or son]’.