Mini Lesson #1: Ellipsis

Whenever you wish to remove a word, a phrase, a sentence, or more from a quoted passage, you should think about two things: fairness to the author being quoted, and making sure the sentence still makes sense (grammatically).

If you quote only a word or phrase, it will be obvious that you left out some of the original sentence:

In his inaugural address, John F. Kennedy spoke of a "new frontier."

But when taking out material from the original sentence or sentences leaves you with a quotation that appears to be a sentence or series of sentences, you need to use an ellipsis, or three spaced periods, to indicate that your quotation does not completely reproduce the original.

For an ellipsis within a sentence, use three periods with a space before each and a space after the last.

EXAMPLE: (original sentence) Medical thinking, trapped in the the theory of astral influences, stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignorning  sanitation or visible carriers.

Quotation with an ellipsis in the middle: In surveying various responses to plagues in the Middle Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes, "Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carries" (101-02).


Quotation with an ellipsis at the end: when the ellipsis appears at the end of your sentence, use three periods with a space before each, and then place the sentence period after the final parenthesis.

"Medical thinking, trapped in the the theory of astral influences, stressed air as the communicator of disease . . ." (101-02).

Now you try:

1. The ceremony honored twelve brilliant athletes from the Caribbean who were visiting the U.S. Leave out "from the Caribbean who were"

If you're unsure, come see me and I'd be happy to help.