Difference between revisions of "Use an Ellipsis"
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#* Only use an ellipsis to indicate a pause or trailing off in creative or casual writing. An ellipsis used in this way in formal writing, such as for a student essay, would be seen as lazy or even perfunctory. | #* Only use an ellipsis to indicate a pause or trailing off in creative or casual writing. An ellipsis used in this way in formal writing, such as for a student essay, would be seen as lazy or even perfunctory. | ||
#Reduce length of block quotes. One reason to use an ellipsis to shorten a quote is because the quote is so long that it needs to be offset by increased margins, or “blocked.” It is desirable to eliminate the use of block quotes unless every word is necessary for the purpose of the paper. | #Reduce length of block quotes. One reason to use an ellipsis to shorten a quote is because the quote is so long that it needs to be offset by increased margins, or “blocked.” It is desirable to eliminate the use of block quotes unless every word is necessary for the purpose of the paper. | ||
| − | #*For MLA formatting, block a quote if it is more than four lines of prose or three lines of poetry.<ref>https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/03/</ref> | + | #*For MLA formatting, block a quote if it is more than four lines of prose or three lines of poetry.<ref name="rf1">https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/03/</ref> |
| − | #*For APA formatting, block a quote if it is 40 words or longer.<ref>http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/06/block-quotations-in-apa-style.html</ref> | + | #*For APA formatting, block a quote if it is 40 words or longer.<ref name="rf2">http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/06/block-quotations-in-apa-style.html</ref> |
| − | #*For Chicago style formatting, block a quote if it is 100 words or longer.<ref>http://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/116563</ref> | + | #*For Chicago style formatting, block a quote if it is 100 words or longer.<ref name="rf3">http://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/116563</ref> |
#*For example, here is a quote that is long enough to be blocked, but an ellipsis is inserted to make it fit in an essay without having to offset it as a block quote: | #*For example, here is a quote that is long enough to be blocked, but an ellipsis is inserted to make it fit in an essay without having to offset it as a block quote: | ||
#**Original: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." --Charles Dickens, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' | #**Original: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." --Charles Dickens, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' | ||
#**With ellipsis: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." --Charles Dickens, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' | #**With ellipsis: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." --Charles Dickens, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' | ||
#Get to the point. Another reason a writer would abbreviate a quote is to eliminate irrelevant information. A quote may not be long enough to block, but if it contains information that will distract the reader, a writer may choose to exclude it. | #Get to the point. Another reason a writer would abbreviate a quote is to eliminate irrelevant information. A quote may not be long enough to block, but if it contains information that will distract the reader, a writer may choose to exclude it. | ||
| − | #*If you are a journalist with a low word limit, it's useful to remove sections of quotes that don’t greatly add to the meaning.<ref>http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ellipses</ref> | + | #*If you are a journalist with a low word limit, it's useful to remove sections of quotes that don’t greatly add to the meaning.<ref name="rf4">http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ellipses</ref> |
#*If you want to omit the first part of a sentence because it does not add to the meaning of the quote, begin the quote with an ellipsis, following the capitalization of the sentence. | #*If you want to omit the first part of a sentence because it does not add to the meaning of the quote, begin the quote with an ellipsis, following the capitalization of the sentence. | ||
#*For example, we can abbreviate the last phrase of the Dickens quote used above even more using both an opening and interior ellipsis: "... in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received ... in the superlative degree of comparison only." --Charles Dickens, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' | #*For example, we can abbreviate the last phrase of the Dickens quote used above even more using both an opening and interior ellipsis: "... in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received ... in the superlative degree of comparison only." --Charles Dickens, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' | ||
| − | #*However, the opening ellipses is not necessary if you are using MLA format.<ref | + | #*However, the opening ellipses is not necessary if you are using MLA format.<ref name="rf1" /> |
#Make a pause or trail off. If you’re writing an informal work, such as with creative writing, it is permissible to use ellipses to show that a character is thinking, hesitant, afraid, and so on. An ellipsis also creates an element of suspense when a character trails off because it presents an unresolved idea. | #Make a pause or trail off. If you’re writing an informal work, such as with creative writing, it is permissible to use ellipses to show that a character is thinking, hesitant, afraid, and so on. An ellipsis also creates an element of suspense when a character trails off because it presents an unresolved idea. | ||
#*You can use an ellipsis in personal writing as well, such as in informal emails or diary entries. In this case, the ellipsis would indicate your thoughts have trailed off. | #*You can use an ellipsis in personal writing as well, such as in informal emails or diary entries. In this case, the ellipsis would indicate your thoughts have trailed off. | ||
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#Choose a section of the quote. Although choosing which section of a quote to abbreviate for a student paper or published article is up to editorial discretion (ie, it’s up to you), you must be careful not to influence the meaning of the quote in any way. | #Choose a section of the quote. Although choosing which section of a quote to abbreviate for a student paper or published article is up to editorial discretion (ie, it’s up to you), you must be careful not to influence the meaning of the quote in any way. | ||
#*To make sure you aren’t changing the meaning, choose words that are not essential to understanding a quotation. | #*To make sure you aren’t changing the meaning, choose words that are not essential to understanding a quotation. | ||
| − | #*Leave verbs and new subjects alone, but take out words that are already understood by the reader. In other words, it’s permissible to remove phrases that are redundant or repetitive.<ref>http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ellipses?page=1</ref> | + | #*Leave verbs and new subjects alone, but take out words that are already understood by the reader. In other words, it’s permissible to remove phrases that are redundant or repetitive.<ref name="rf5">http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ellipses?page=1</ref> |
#**For example, here is another Charles Dickens quote, this time from the novel ''Our Mutual Friend'': "I cannot help it; reason has nothing to do with it; I love her against reason." | #**For example, here is another Charles Dickens quote, this time from the novel ''Our Mutual Friend'': "I cannot help it; reason has nothing to do with it; I love her against reason." | ||
#**Here is the quote with a redundant phrase removed: "I cannot help it ... I love her against reason." | #**Here is the quote with a redundant phrase removed: "I cannot help it ... I love her against reason." | ||
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#* If the removed section leaves the quote grammatically incorrect, add a word or short phrase that bridges the gaps in square brackets [ ] after the ellipsis. | #* If the removed section leaves the quote grammatically incorrect, add a word or short phrase that bridges the gaps in square brackets [ ] after the ellipsis. | ||
#*For example, it would look like: "She played in the sun ... [but] hated it." | #*For example, it would look like: "She played in the sun ... [but] hated it." | ||
| − | #Add a period when you delete a sentence. If you have determined it is possible to delete the rest of a sentence or a whole sentence, you need to add the period that would have been there after the ellipsis. The ellipsis would then look like it has four dots.<ref>http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/04/ellipseswhen-and-how.html</ref> | + | #Add a period when you delete a sentence. If you have determined it is possible to delete the rest of a sentence or a whole sentence, you need to add the period that would have been there after the ellipsis. The ellipsis would then look like it has four dots.<ref name="rf6">http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/04/ellipseswhen-and-how.html</ref> |
#*Remember that an ellipsis has only three dots. The fourth dot is always a period. | #*Remember that an ellipsis has only three dots. The fourth dot is always a period. | ||
#*Begin the next part of the quotation with a capital letter if it is the beginning of a new sentence. | #*Begin the next part of the quotation with a capital letter if it is the beginning of a new sentence. | ||
