How to Draw Brackets on a Word Document

You can draw large brackets in Microsoft Word.

Brackets are punctuation marks used to include you own words in a direct quotation, to clarify a pronoun, to indicate an error in a source and to insert a parenthetical expression within a parenthetical expression. The bracket at the beginning of a selection opens to the right, and the bracket at the end of a selections opens to the left. Microsoft Words allow you to type brackets by using the key board or to draw larger, more artistic brackets by accessing the Object Palette.

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Word and select "View" from the menu bar.

2. Select "Formatting Palette" from the drop-down menu.

3. Locate the row of icons below the title at the top of the Formatting Palette. Move your cursor over the second icon from the left and click it to open the Object Palette. Click "Shapes" icon at the far left in the bar below the Object Palette button. Select "Basic Shapes" in the next bar to reveal a collection of shapes and brackets.

4. Select the brackets you want to draw; the brackets are located below the rows of geometric shapes.

5. Click on the set of brackets you want to select, then move the cursor to the place in your document you want to insert the brackets and click to draw the brackets. Drag the handles (small points on the tops, sides and corners) to resize or move the brackets.

References

• Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Introduction to Microsoft Word 2008
• Northland College: Using Brackets