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In my writing, I sometimes deal with complex concepts, some of which - if they are to be properly expressed (by which I mean precisely expressed) to a reader new to the concept - are dealt with in a sentence which consists of three layers; as is this one. Here, the brackets are the inner layer, dashes the intermediary, and the outer is the sentence itself.

Sometimes I have found it convenient to further complicate matters by conveying two concepts - already embedded in the intermediary layer; necessary because of depth of argument - which are divided by a semicolon, within dashes.

For the first time in my life, I saw - yesterday (in ELL) whilst browsing - someone use double brackets. They expressed a thought (and then another thought ((interrupted by another thought)) which was bracketed) which was well worth reading about.

I don't find any of this at all difficult to digest, myself.

But my question is, does any of it conform to normal expectations of punctuation ?

Nigel J
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Even at risk of being accused by some members of writing an inexpert answer, may I suggest that punctuation is best kept simple and unambiguous. I should recommend the use of just one pair of brackets (or one pair of dashes) at a time, and feel it is better not to mix both in the same sentence: especially not dashes within brackets!

This sentence is not so easy to decode with a single reading:

I sometimes deal with complex concepts, some of which - if they are to be properly expressed (by which I mean precisely expressed) to a reader new to the concept - are dealt with in a sentence which consists of three layers

Moreover, multiple breaks in the form of brackets and dashes interrupt both the flow of the reading and the expression of your ideas.

Part of the problem is that the proper interpretation of a multi-layered complex sentence may be very clear to us -- especially if we wrote it -- but it can potentially confuse readers, which is not what we want, is it! Some great author said, "if it looks likely your reader would lose his way and need to read the sentence again from the beginning, then it is always better to rewrite your sentence."

My English writing goal this year is to write as clearly as I possibly can, and absolutely minimize ambiguity, for which I frequently try to mentally re-read my sentences from the point of view of the general reader. I should recommend this practice to polish our syntax and punctuation for maximum clarity, whenever the option is available.

Two notable closely-related previous questions that have some good answers for your situation are

(Parentheses (inside parentheses))

Is it acceptable to nest parentheses?

I shall also try to update this answer with style guide references that give authoritative guidelines on how to approach punctuation in such cases.

English Student
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  • (+1) I have to agree. What is clear to me, is not - necessarily - clear to the reader. Point taken. – Nigel J Nov 04 '17 at 21:29
  • May I also draw your attention to this answer (to my very recent question) that makes use of the rare 'double brackets within a sentence in single brackets', and shows a few other choices of syntax and punctuation similar to what you have referred to here in your own question @Nigel J: https://english.stackexchange.com/a/416998/231519 – English Student Nov 04 '17 at 22:13
  • That's exactly where I saw the double bracket, but I didn't remember where. – Nigel J Nov 04 '17 at 22:16
  • Notable previous questions related to your topic, with some good answers that would be useful reading in this context @Nigel J: (1) https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/196031/parentheses-inside-parentheses and (2) https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/11155/is-it-acceptable-to-nest-parentheses – English Student Nov 04 '17 at 22:21
  • Another approach to writing conceptual non-fiction is to read good stylists. In fact, I don't think there's any other way to do it. You can search for names (Google "literary stylists"); my favorite--complex sentences, astute use of punctuation--is Joan Didion: The White Album. Others have other preferences (usually less recent). – Xanne Nov 05 '17 at 07:09
  • "Another approach to writing conceptual non-fiction is to read good stylists. In fact, I don't think there's any other way to do it." __ reading quality writers with an eye to learning good style is absolutely the best way to do it @Xanne! – English Student Nov 05 '17 at 09:25
  • @English Student Sometime I'd like to chat about what you've read that you've found helpful and how you chose it. – Xanne Nov 06 '17 at 00:57
  • Thanks for the interest @Xanne. May I clarify that my own approach has been simply to read and read and read just for the love of reading and let my mind absorb the essence of good syntax, grammar and punctuation! I've never studied the best prose stylists with a view to writing better English but I have been reading good writers democratically (from youngsters' tales through various types of genre fiction to the great literature of the world in all languages, translated into English) for 34 of my 38 years at the average rate of 36 novels a year -- and all of that inevitably shaped my writing. – English Student Nov 06 '17 at 08:51
  • [contd] So it would be most interesting to have that chat quite soon! I am attracted by certain aspects of a writer's style which have more to do with elegant phrases, evocative word choice and the ability to draw the reader into the world of the novel. However I think a person like OP could read the best prose stylists specifically to become a better writer of layered sentences and better express his complex concepts @Xanne. Hence a short recommendation of which authors are worth reading (to study their exceptionally good writing style) would be most welcome here. – English Student Nov 06 '17 at 08:59
  • @EnglishStudent I created a chat room called Resources-Literature and copied some of the above discussion to it (I don't know how to move the discussion)--We could chat there. But I think I'm on the opposite side of the planet--have to get some sleep now! – Xanne Nov 06 '17 at 09:49
  • Nice work @Xanne! You can ping me at the chatroom at a convenient time for yourself, and I am usually available during your waking hours. Of course 'chat' is usually staggered over hours of real time because of the time zone differences on SE. Just treat it as a much needed comments section to discuss Literature (which is usually off topic elsewhere on ELU), I says! Your initiative in this direction is much appreciated. – English Student Nov 06 '17 at 09:57
  • @NigelJ https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/68267/resources-literature – English Student Nov 06 '17 at 10:00