Instructional Materials for Craig White's Literature Courses

Definitions:

Oxford English Dictionary. Ellipsis. 2. Grammar. The omission of one or more words in a sentence, which would be needed to complete the grammatical construction or fully to express the sense; concr. an instance of such omission.

Merriam-Webster. Ellipsis. 1. the act of leaving out one or more words that are not necessary for a phrase to be understood. 2. a sign (such as . . . ) used in printed text to show that words have been left out.

Plural: ellipses. Technically, "ellipsis" refers to the whole set of three dots or points. "Ellipses" would refer to more than one set or to the general concept, as in, "Your use of ellipses is correct more often than not."

Form: 3 (or 4) periods or points, with a space before and after each point. Some word-processing programs leave out the spaces, and most people don't see the difference, but MLA style is to space once before and after each point or period mark. (MLA = Modern Language Association)

Wrong: ...

Right: . . .

Examples:

3-point ellipsis (interior of sentence):

According to sports historian Gary Coburn, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the USA."

According to sports historian Gary Coburn, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes . . . visiting the USA."

4-point ellipses (at end of sentence):

According to sports historian Gary Coburn, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the USA."

According to sports historian Gary Coburn, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean . . . ."

Example of 4-point ellipses at end of sentence with MLA parenthetical documentation:

According to sports historian Gary Coburn, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the USA" (26)

According to sports historian Gary Coburn, "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean . . . " (26).

Example of 4-point ellipses at end of sentence with APA parenthetical documentation:

According to sports historian Gary Coburn (2007), "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the USA" (26)

According to sports historian Gary Coburn (2007), "The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean . . . " (26).

http://www.writingforward.com/grammar/punctuation-marks/punctuation-marks-ellipsis