Handbook: Writing Problems and How to Correct Them

16 Ellipsis Marks

Ellipsis Marks

An ellipsis mark ( . . . ) is written as three equally spaced periods. It is used within a direct quotation to indicate where you have left out part of the original quotation. You use an ellipsis mark to shorten a quotation so that it includes just the parts you want or need to quote.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION	“The prison, a high percentage of whose inmates are serving life sentences, looked surprisingly ordinary.”
SHORTENED	“The prison . . . looked surprisingly ordinary.”
	Notice that the two commas were also omitted when the quotation was shortened.

However, when you shorten a quotation, be careful not to change the meaning of the original passage. Do not omit any parts that will alter or misrepresent the writer’s intended meaning.

ORIGINAL	“Magicians create illusions, but sometimes audience members want to believe that magic is real.”
MEANING ALTERED	“Magicians . . . want to believe that magic is real.”

When you omit the last part of a quoted sentence, add a sentence period, for a total of four periods (a period plus the ellipsis mark).

ORIGINAL QUOTATION	“In the sphere of psychology, details are also the thing. God preserve us from commonplaces. Best of all is to avoid depicting the hero’s state of mind; you ought to try to make it clear from the hero’s actions. It is not necessary to portray many characters. The center of gravity should be in two persons: him and her.”
	Anton Chekhov, Letter to Alexander P. Chekhov
SHORTENED	“God preserve us from commonplaces. Best of all is to avoid depicting the hero’s state of mind. . . . It is not necessary to portray many characters. The center of gravity should be in two persons: him and her.”

An ellipsis mark is not needed to indicate that the quoted passage continues after the sentence ends.

Do not use an ellipsis mark at the beginning of a quotation, even though there is material in the original that comes before it.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION	“As was the case after the recent cleaning of the Sistine Chapel, the makeover of the starry ceiling in Grand Central Station has revealed surprisingly brilliant color.”
SHORTENED	“[T]he makeover of the starry ceiling in Grand Central Station has revealed surprisingly brilliant color.”

Note: The first word of a quoted sentence should be capitalized. If you change from a lowercase to a capital letter, enclose the letter in brackets (see 18d). (For more on MLA style for ellipsis marks, see Chapter 24.)