The Punctuation Guide.com

Angle brackets

In ordinary writing, angle brackets < > are rarely used.

In the early days of the internet, angle brackets were sometimes used to enclose an email or web address. This was thought to avoid confusion about whether certain punctuation marks belonged to the address or to the surrounding sentence.

Example

For a thorough guide to punctuation, please visit my website: <www.thepunctuationguide.com>. If you have any questions, please email me at <editor@thepunctuationguide.com>.

Now that most people understand the conventions of web and email addresses, this use of angle brackets is unnecessary.

Example

For a thorough guide to punctuation, please visit my website: www.thepunctuationguide.com. If you have any questions, please email me at editor@thepunctuationguide.com.