Week 2: Parentheses and calls

Calling a method means typing its name and then a pair of round brackets, and you will do this constantly in C#. Parentheses always come in pairs, so every opening bracket needs its closing partner. Forgetting one leaves the rest of the line broken. This week you practice ( and ), typing them accurately and getting comfortable with them without checking the keyboard.

What you will learn

A method call puts any values it needs between its round brackets. The brackets can also stay empty:

• Console.Clear(); clears the screen. Nothing goes inside the brackets.
• Console.ReadLine() reads one line of input from the user. Its brackets are empty too.

This week’s symbols on the US English layout:

• (: press 9 with Shift. Hold Shift with the opposite pinky (the left pinky) and press 9 with the right ring finger.
• ): press 0 with Shift. Hold Shift with the opposite pinky (the left pinky) and press 0 with the right pinky.

Technique tips

• Type the closing bracket right after the opening one, then fill in what goes between them. You will never leave a call half finished.
• Press Shift before you reach for the bracket key and keep it held. Release the key first, then Shift.
• Return to the home row after every bracket. Frequent returns keep your rhythm steady.
• Enter fills in the next line’s indentation. When you open a block, do not retype the indent.
• Read one line ahead while you type. Knowing what comes next helps you close brackets at the right moment.

Lessons

1. Learn (10 to 15 minutes): Watch the demo for ( and ), notice which hand holds Shift, and type each symbol several times.
2. Practice (10 to 15 minutes): Type this week’s text. For every call, think about the opening and closing brackets together.
3. Review (10 to 15 minutes): Take the two-minute test. Check where your mistakes happened and focus on that spot in the next lesson.

This week’s goal

The goal this week is 12 WPM with 90 percent accuracy. Stars work like this: finish the lesson for 1 star, reach 90 percent accuracy for 2 stars, and reach 12 WPM as well for 3 stars. Brackets are a place where accuracy matters most, because a missing one stops the code from running. Get them right first, then work on speed.