Punctuation inside the brackets:
* Periods and commas: If the bracketed material is a complete sentence, the period or comma goes inside the closing bracket.
* Example: "The cat sat on the mat. (He was very sleepy.)"
* Question marks and exclamation points: If the bracketed material is a question or an exclamation, the punctuation goes inside the closing bracket.
* Example: "Did you see the movie? (It was amazing!)"
Punctuation outside the brackets:
* Periods and commas: If the bracketed material is not a complete sentence, the punctuation goes outside the closing bracket.
* Example: "The cat sat on the mat (a soft, fuzzy mat)."
* Question marks and exclamation points: If the bracketed material is a question or an exclamation, but the whole sentence is also a question or exclamation, the punctuation goes outside the closing bracket.
* Example: "Did you see the movie (the one with the talking cat)?!"
Important Exceptions:
* If the bracketed material is a citation or other reference, the punctuation goes outside the closing bracket.
* Example: "The study found that cats are more intelligent than dogs. (Smith, 2023)"
Key Point:
The goal is to make the punctuation clear and logical for the reader. Consider what makes the most sense for the flow of the sentence and the meaning you want to convey.