writershelp

The ellipsis mark

The ellipsis mark consists of three periods, with space before and after each period.

Ellipsis mark for deleted material within a sentence

Use an ellipsis mark to indicate that you have deleted material from an otherwise word-for-word quotation.

Example sentence: Reuben reports that “when the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood rises over . . . 300 milligrams per 100, the chances of a heart attack increase dramatically” (85).

Ellipsis mark for deletion of a full sentence

If you delete a full sentence or more in the middle of a quoted passage, use a period before the three ellipsis dots.

Example sentence: “Most of our efforts,” writes Dave Erikson, “are directed toward saving the bald eagle's wintering habitat along the Mississippi River. . . . It's important that the wintering birds have a place to roost, where they can get out of the cold wind.”

Ordinarily, do not use the ellipsis mark at the beginning or at the end of a quotation. Readers will understand that the quoted material is taken from a longer passage.

Example sentence: Charles Lewis, director of the Center of Public Integrity, points out that “by 1987, employers were administering nearly 2,000,000 polygraph tests a year to job applicants and employees. . . . Millions of workers were required to produce urine samples under observation for drug testing . . .” (22).

Ellipsis mark for deletion of a line of poetry

In quoted poetry, use a full line of dots to indicate that you have dropped a line or more from the poem.

Example sentence: Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime. ........... but at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near;

Ellipsis mark for an interruption or unfinished thought

The ellipsis mark may be used to mark a hesitation or an interruption in speech or to suggest unfinished thoughts.

Example sentence: “The apartment building next door . . it's going up in flames!” yelled Marcia.

Example sentence: Before falling into a coma, the victim whispered, “It was a man with a tattoo on his . . .”

Exercise: Other punctuation marks