Avoid (parentheses)  These symbols: () are called parentheses.  In academic writing they are used for citing references but you should not use them inside sentences. Use commas instead of parentheses  Instead of: Windows 7 (the newest operating system from Microsoft) has a feature called ReadyBoost that improves performance by caching data from the system RAM into a USB flash drive. Write: Windows 7, the newest operating system from Microsoft, has a feature called ReadyBoost that improves performance by caching data from the system RAM into a USB flash drive. Instead of using parentheses, simply delete unnecessary phrases.  Sometimes students use parentheses to mean that some of the words in a sentence are less important.  Don’t do that. Write with commas or else delete. Instead of: Linux (the author’s favorite OS) was created largely by efforts of Linus Torvalds who wrote the first kernel for the OS in 1991 (when he was still a college student). Write: Linux was created largely by efforts of Linus Torvalds who wrote the first kernel for the OS in 1991, when he was still a college student. About author Hans Anderson  2007-Present: Lecturer at FPT Greenwich Programmes, FPT University.  2007: M.S., Computational Mathematics, University of Minnesota  2001: B.A., Computer Science, Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN . Avoid (parentheses)  These symbols: () are called parentheses.  In academic