{"id":1042,"date":"2020-01-17T17:39:45","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T17:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/coreqenglish1\/chapter\/text-brackets-parentheses-and-ellipses\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T00:56:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T00:56:26","slug":"parentheses-brackets-and-ellipses","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/parentheses-brackets-and-ellipses\/","title":{"raw":"Parentheses, Brackets, and Ellipses","rendered":"Parentheses, Brackets, and Ellipses"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Demonstrate the proper use of parentheses, brackets, and ellipses<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Parentheses<\/h2>\r\nParentheses can do more than make smiley faces :) and sad faces :( like these! They serve an important function in formal writing as well.\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Key Takeaway: Parentheses<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1766\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"143\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1766\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/05\/04171014\/paren-1024x886.png\" alt=\"Appropriate alternative text for this image can be found in the caption.\" width=\"143\" height=\"124\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. An opening and closing parentheses.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nParentheses are used to set off information in a sentence that is important but not really a part of the main message.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s important to remember that your sentence should make sense if you eliminate the parentheses and all that is contained between them.\r\n\r\nRemember, parentheses always appear in pairs. If you open a parenthesis, you need another to close it!\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3>Using Parentheses<\/h3>\r\nIf a full sentence is enclosed in parentheses and begins with a capital letter, the end punctuation should be placed inside the parentheses.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Full sentences in PArentheses<\/h3>\r\nTypically, suppliers specify air-to-cloth ratios of 6:1 or higher. (However, ratios of 4:1 should be used for applications involving silica or feldspathic minerals.)\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nWhen parentheses appear in the middle of a sentence, punctuation is placed after the closing parenthesis, not inside.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Parentheses inside sentences<\/h3>\r\nThe new filtration system is more efficient (even under high humidity conditions), but it requires regular maintenance.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nParentheses can also be used to provide acronyms or spell out full names for acronyms.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Parentheses and Acronyms<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>We use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style guide here.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide is my favorite to use.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nYou\u2019ll probably use parentheses most often in your research papers because both APA and MLA formatting require in-text citations using parentheses. So right after a quote or any other borrowed information, you should include an in-text citation in parentheses.\r\n\r\nWhen parentheses enclose a citation at the end of a sentence, the sentence\u2019s punctuation comes after the parentheses.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Parentheses used for Citations<\/h3>\r\n<strong>Example (APA in-text citation):<\/strong>\r\n\u201cThe results confirmed the hypothesis\u201d (Jones, 2011, p. 131).\r\n\r\n<strong>Example (MLA in-text citation):<\/strong>\r\n\u201cThe results confirmed the hypothesis\u201d (Jones 131).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe period comes after the parenthesis in both APA and MLA format. The exception to this rule is with block quotes. When using block quotes, in both APA and MLA format, the period comes before the in-text citation.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> In technical writing, there are additional rules for using parentheses, which can be more nuanced. While we won\u2019t discuss those rules here, it\u2019s important to bear their existence in mind, especially if you\u2019re considering going into a more technical field.<\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n<div class=\"teal-example \">\r\n<div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/8c52b218-7bed-4993-a49d-5e69fb4156a1\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/1f6a4a8a-8a43-4efa-bb54-f23408f80dbc\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Brackets<\/h2>\r\nBrackets are a fairly uncommon punctuation mark. Their main use is in quotations: they can be used to clarify quotes.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1764\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"200\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1764\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/05\/04170934\/bracket-1024x936.png\" alt=\"Appropriate alternative text for this image can be found in the caption.\" width=\"200\" height=\"183\" \/> <strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. An opening and closing bracket.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor example, say you want to quote the following passage:\r\n\r\n\u201cI finally got to meet him today. I had a really great time with him. He was a lot taller than expected, though.\u201d\r\n\r\nMaybe you don\u2019t want to use this whole passage or want to add clarity.\r\n\r\nYou might write:\r\n\r\n\u201cI finally got to meet [Trent] today.\u201d Here, the brackets replace him and explain who the word him references.\r\n\r\nWhen you can, avoid brackets, however.\r\n\r\nInstead of writing \u201c[Trent] was a lot taller than expected,\u201d you might write:\r\n\r\nTrent is \u201ca lot taller than expected.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe brackets let the reader know that while the word Trent wasn\u2019t in the original quote, his name was implied there. When using brackets, be careful not to change the original meaning of the quote.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAnother use of brackets is when there is a spelling or informational error in the original quote. In those cases you use [<em>sic<\/em>], which means that the typo was in the original source of the quote.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: using Brackets for typos<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The report stated, \u201cThe new policy will effect [sic] all employees starting next month.\u201d\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Here, [sic] is denoting that the misuse of effect rather than affect is part of the original quote.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>In the opinion article, the writer said, \u201cThe goverment [sic] should focus more on environmental policies.\u201d\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Here, [sic] is denoting the misspelling of the word government in the original quote.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/3d9a0d80-d899-4268-ac4b-d30a07cef46a\r\n<h2>Bracket Placement<\/h2>\r\nSee if you can correctly place the brackets in the following interactive.\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1290910655996694208\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Ellipses<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1762\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1762\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/05\/04170843\/ellips-1024x473.png\" alt=\"Appropriate alternative text for this image can be found in the caption.\" width=\"300\" height=\"138\" \/> <strong>Figure 3<\/strong>. An ellipsis.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAn ellipsis (plural <em>ellipses<\/em>)\u00a0is a series of three periods, as you can see in the icon to the right.\r\n\r\nAs with most punctuation marks, there is some contention about its usage. The main point of contention is whether or not there should be a space between the periods (.\u00a0.\u00a0.) or not (\u2026). MLA, APA, and\u00a0<em>Chicago<\/em>, the most common style guides for students,\u00a0support having spaces between the periods. Others you may encounter, such as in journalism, may not.\r\n<h3>Quotes<\/h3>\r\nLike the brackets we just learned about, you will primarily see ellipses\u00a0used in quotes. They\u00a0indicate a missing portion in a quote.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Ellipses in Quotes<\/h3>\r\nLook at the following quote for an example:\r\n<blockquote><em>Camarasaurus<\/em>, with its more mechanically efficient skull, was capable of generating much stronger bite forces than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus<\/em>. This suggests that <em>Camarasaurus<\/em> was capable of chomping through tougher plant material than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus<\/em>, and was perhaps even capable of a greater degree of oral processing before digestion. This actually ties in nicely with previous hypotheses of different diets for each, which were based\u00a0on apparent feeding heights and inferences made from wear marks on their fossilized teeth.\r\n\r\n<em>Diplodocus<\/em> seems to have been well-adapted, despite its weaker skull, to a form of feeding known as branch stripping, where leaves are plucked from branches as the teeth are dragged along them. The increased flexibility of the neck of <em>Diplodocus<\/em> compared to other sauropods seems to support this too.<\/blockquote>\r\nIt's a lengthy quote, and it contains more information than you want to include. Here's how to cut it down:\r\n<blockquote><em>Camarasaurus<\/em>, with its more mechanically efficient skull, was capable of generating much stronger bite forces than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus<\/em>. This suggests that <em>Camarasaurus<\/em> was capable of chomping through tougher plant material than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus.\u00a0<\/em>. . .\u00a0This actually ties in nicely with previous hypotheses of different diets for each, which were based\u00a0on apparent feeding heights and inferences made from wear marks on their fossilized teeth.\r\n\r\n<em>Diplodocus<\/em> seems to have been well-adapted\u00a0. . .\u00a0to a form of feeding known as branch stripping, where leaves are plucked from branches as the teeth are dragged along them.<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\nIn the block quote above, you can see that the first ellipsis appears to have\u00a0four dots. (\"They are instantly recognized by their long, sweeping necks and whiplashed tails. . . .\")\u00a0However, this is just a period followed by an ellipsis. This is because\u00a0ellipses <strong>do not<\/strong> remove punctuation marks when the original punctuation still is in use; they are instead used in conjunction with original punctuation.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Ellipses followed by punctuation<\/h3>\r\nHere is another example, with an ellipsis followed by a comma:\r\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">By looking at two sympatric species (those that lived together) from the fossil graveyards of the Late Jurassic of North America . . . , [David Button] tried to work out what the major dietary differences were between sauropod dinosaurs, based on their anatomy.<\/span><\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial; color: #373d3f;\">One of the best ways to check yourself is to\u00a0take out the ellipsis. If the sentence or paragraph is still correctly punctuated, you've used\u00a0the ellipsis correctly. (Just remember to put it back in!)<\/span>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nQuote the following passage, using ellipses to\u00a0remove the bolded portions and using\u00a0brackets for clarity where necessary.\r\n<blockquote>Sauropod dinosaurs are the biggest animals to have ever walked on land. They are instantly recognized by their long, sweeping necks and whiplashed tails, <strong>and nearly always portrayed moving in herds, being stalked by hungry predators<\/strong>.\u00a0In recent years, <strong>a huge amount of taxonomic effort from scientists has vastly increased the number of known species of sauropod. What we now know is<\/strong> that in many areas we had two or more species co-existing alongside each other.\u00a0A question that arises from this, is how did we have animals that seem so similar, and with such high energy and dietary requirements, living alongside one another? Was there some sort of spinach-like super plant that gave them all Popeye-like physical boosts, or something more subtle?<\/blockquote>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"6\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"3662\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"3662\"]The first ellipsis should follow a period, and the second should follow a comma. There are a couple of phrases that could\u00a0be used in brackets, but we've chosen the phrase \"research has shown.\"\r\n<blockquote>Sauropod dinosaurs are the biggest animals to have ever walked on land. They are instantly recognized by their long, sweeping necks and whiplashed tails. . . .\u00a0In recent years, . . . [research has shown] that in many areas we had two or more species co-existing alongside each other.\u00a0A question that arises from this, is how did we have animals that seem so similar, and with such high energy and dietary requirements, living\u00a0alongside one another?<\/blockquote>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\nThis is a part of Martin Luther King\u2019s famous \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Quote part of the following passage, using ellipses to remove the bolded passage and making sure that you use the appropriate punctuation surrounding it:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, <strong>a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression,<\/strong> will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.<strong> I have a dream today.<\/strong> I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, <strong>with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of \u201cinterposition\u201d and \u201cnullification,\u201d one day right there in Alabama<\/strong> little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"713549\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"713549\"]The first ellipses should NOT follow the comma, because the phrases that were removed make the comma meaningless. The second ellipses should follow the period because the removed material comes after the period. The third ellipses should follow the comma because the removed materials appear after the comma.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cI have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi . . . will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. . . . I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, . . . little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Demonstrate the proper use of parentheses, brackets, and ellipses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Parentheses<\/h2>\n<p>Parentheses can do more than make smiley faces :) and sad faces :( like these! They serve an important function in formal writing as well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Key Takeaway: Parentheses<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_1766\" style=\"width: 153px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1766\" class=\"wp-image-1766\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/05\/04171014\/paren-1024x886.png\" alt=\"Appropriate alternative text for this image can be found in the caption.\" width=\"143\" height=\"124\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1766\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. An opening and closing parentheses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Parentheses are used to set off information in a sentence that is important but not really a part of the main message.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to remember that your sentence should make sense if you eliminate the parentheses and all that is contained between them.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, parentheses always appear in pairs. If you open a parenthesis, you need another to close it!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Using Parentheses<\/h3>\n<p>If a full sentence is enclosed in parentheses and begins with a capital letter, the end punctuation should be placed inside the parentheses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Full sentences in PArentheses<\/h3>\n<p>Typically, suppliers specify air-to-cloth ratios of 6:1 or higher. (However, ratios of 4:1 should be used for applications involving silica or feldspathic minerals.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When parentheses appear in the middle of a sentence, punctuation is placed after the closing parenthesis, not inside.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Parentheses inside sentences<\/h3>\n<p>The new filtration system is more efficient (even under high humidity conditions), but it requires regular maintenance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Parentheses can also be used to provide acronyms or spell out full names for acronyms.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Parentheses and Acronyms<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>We use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style guide here.<\/li>\n<li>The Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide is my favorite to use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>You\u2019ll probably use parentheses most often in your research papers because both APA and MLA formatting require in-text citations using parentheses. So right after a quote or any other borrowed information, you should include an in-text citation in parentheses.<\/p>\n<p>When parentheses enclose a citation at the end of a sentence, the sentence\u2019s punctuation comes after the parentheses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Parentheses used for Citations<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Example (APA in-text citation):<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cThe results confirmed the hypothesis\u201d (Jones, 2011, p. 131).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Example (MLA in-text citation):<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cThe results confirmed the hypothesis\u201d (Jones 131).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The period comes after the parenthesis in both APA and MLA format. The exception to this rule is with block quotes. When using block quotes, in both APA and MLA format, the period comes before the in-text citation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> In technical writing, there are additional rules for using parentheses, which can be more nuanced. While we won\u2019t discuss those rules here, it\u2019s important to bear their existence in mind, especially if you\u2019re considering going into a more technical field.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"teal-example\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_8c52b218-7bed-4993-a49d-5e69fb4156a1\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/8c52b218-7bed-4993-a49d-5e69fb4156a1?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_8c52b218-7bed-4993-a49d-5e69fb4156a1\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_1f6a4a8a-8a43-4efa-bb54-f23408f80dbc\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/1f6a4a8a-8a43-4efa-bb54-f23408f80dbc?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_1f6a4a8a-8a43-4efa-bb54-f23408f80dbc\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Brackets<\/h2>\n<p>Brackets are a fairly uncommon punctuation mark. Their main use is in quotations: they can be used to clarify quotes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_1764\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1764\" class=\"wp-image-1764\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/05\/04170934\/bracket-1024x936.png\" alt=\"Appropriate alternative text for this image can be found in the caption.\" width=\"200\" height=\"183\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1764\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. An opening and closing bracket.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>For example, say you want to quote the following passage:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI finally got to meet him today. I had a really great time with him. He was a lot taller than expected, though.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe you don\u2019t want to use this whole passage or want to add clarity.<\/p>\n<p>You might write:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI finally got to meet [Trent] today.\u201d Here, the brackets replace him and explain who the word him references.<\/p>\n<p>When you can, avoid brackets, however.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of writing \u201c[Trent] was a lot taller than expected,\u201d you might write:<\/p>\n<p>Trent is \u201ca lot taller than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The brackets let the reader know that while the word Trent wasn\u2019t in the original quote, his name was implied there. When using brackets, be careful not to change the original meaning of the quote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another use of brackets is when there is a spelling or informational error in the original quote. In those cases you use [<em>sic<\/em>], which means that the typo was in the original source of the quote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: using Brackets for typos<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The report stated, \u201cThe new policy will effect [sic] all employees starting next month.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>Here, [sic] is denoting that the misuse of effect rather than affect is part of the original quote.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In the opinion article, the writer said, \u201cThe goverment [sic] should focus more on environmental policies.\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>Here, [sic] is denoting the misspelling of the word government in the original quote.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_3d9a0d80-d899-4268-ac4b-d30a07cef46a\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/3d9a0d80-d899-4268-ac4b-d30a07cef46a?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_3d9a0d80-d899-4268-ac4b-d30a07cef46a\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Bracket Placement<\/h2>\n<p>See if you can correctly place the brackets in the following interactive.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1290910655996694208\/embed\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Ellipses<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1762\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1762\" class=\"wp-image-1762\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/05\/04170843\/ellips-1024x473.png\" alt=\"Appropriate alternative text for this image can be found in the caption.\" width=\"300\" height=\"138\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 3<\/strong>. An ellipsis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>An ellipsis (plural <em>ellipses<\/em>)\u00a0is a series of three periods, as you can see in the icon to the right.<\/p>\n<p>As with most punctuation marks, there is some contention about its usage. The main point of contention is whether or not there should be a space between the periods (.\u00a0.\u00a0.) or not (\u2026). MLA, APA, and\u00a0<em>Chicago<\/em>, the most common style guides for students,\u00a0support having spaces between the periods. Others you may encounter, such as in journalism, may not.<\/p>\n<h3>Quotes<\/h3>\n<p>Like the brackets we just learned about, you will primarily see ellipses\u00a0used in quotes. They\u00a0indicate a missing portion in a quote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Ellipses in Quotes<\/h3>\n<p>Look at the following quote for an example:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Camarasaurus<\/em>, with its more mechanically efficient skull, was capable of generating much stronger bite forces than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus<\/em>. This suggests that <em>Camarasaurus<\/em> was capable of chomping through tougher plant material than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus<\/em>, and was perhaps even capable of a greater degree of oral processing before digestion. This actually ties in nicely with previous hypotheses of different diets for each, which were based\u00a0on apparent feeding heights and inferences made from wear marks on their fossilized teeth.<\/p>\n<p><em>Diplodocus<\/em> seems to have been well-adapted, despite its weaker skull, to a form of feeding known as branch stripping, where leaves are plucked from branches as the teeth are dragged along them. The increased flexibility of the neck of <em>Diplodocus<\/em> compared to other sauropods seems to support this too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It&#8217;s a lengthy quote, and it contains more information than you want to include. Here&#8217;s how to cut it down:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Camarasaurus<\/em>, with its more mechanically efficient skull, was capable of generating much stronger bite forces than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus<\/em>. This suggests that <em>Camarasaurus<\/em> was capable of chomping through tougher plant material than\u00a0<em>Diplodocus.\u00a0<\/em>. . .\u00a0This actually ties in nicely with previous hypotheses of different diets for each, which were based\u00a0on apparent feeding heights and inferences made from wear marks on their fossilized teeth.<\/p>\n<p><em>Diplodocus<\/em> seems to have been well-adapted\u00a0. . .\u00a0to a form of feeding known as branch stripping, where leaves are plucked from branches as the teeth are dragged along them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the block quote above, you can see that the first ellipsis appears to have\u00a0four dots. (&#8220;They are instantly recognized by their long, sweeping necks and whiplashed tails. . . .&#8221;)\u00a0However, this is just a period followed by an ellipsis. This is because\u00a0ellipses <strong>do not<\/strong> remove punctuation marks when the original punctuation still is in use; they are instead used in conjunction with original punctuation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Ellipses followed by punctuation<\/h3>\n<p>Here is another example, with an ellipsis followed by a comma:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">By looking at two sympatric species (those that lived together) from the fossil graveyards of the Late Jurassic of North America . . . , [David Button] tried to work out what the major dietary differences were between sauropod dinosaurs, based on their anatomy.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial; color: #373d3f;\">One of the best ways to check yourself is to\u00a0take out the ellipsis. If the sentence or paragraph is still correctly punctuated, you&#8217;ve used\u00a0the ellipsis correctly. (Just remember to put it back in!)<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>Quote the following passage, using ellipses to\u00a0remove the bolded portions and using\u00a0brackets for clarity where necessary.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Sauropod dinosaurs are the biggest animals to have ever walked on land. They are instantly recognized by their long, sweeping necks and whiplashed tails, <strong>and nearly always portrayed moving in herds, being stalked by hungry predators<\/strong>.\u00a0In recent years, <strong>a huge amount of taxonomic effort from scientists has vastly increased the number of known species of sauropod. What we now know is<\/strong> that in many areas we had two or more species co-existing alongside each other.\u00a0A question that arises from this, is how did we have animals that seem so similar, and with such high energy and dietary requirements, living alongside one another? Was there some sort of spinach-like super plant that gave them all Popeye-like physical boosts, or something more subtle?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"6\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q3662\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q3662\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">The first ellipsis should follow a period, and the second should follow a comma. There are a couple of phrases that could\u00a0be used in brackets, but we&#8217;ve chosen the phrase &#8220;research has shown.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Sauropod dinosaurs are the biggest animals to have ever walked on land. They are instantly recognized by their long, sweeping necks and whiplashed tails. . . .\u00a0In recent years, . . . [research has shown] that in many areas we had two or more species co-existing alongside each other.\u00a0A question that arises from this, is how did we have animals that seem so similar, and with such high energy and dietary requirements, living\u00a0alongside one another?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is a part of Martin Luther King\u2019s famous \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Quote part of the following passage, using ellipses to remove the bolded passage and making sure that you use the appropriate punctuation surrounding it:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, <strong>a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression,<\/strong> will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.<strong> I have a dream today.<\/strong> I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, <strong>with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of \u201cinterposition\u201d and \u201cnullification,\u201d one day right there in Alabama<\/strong> little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q713549\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q713549\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">The first ellipses should NOT follow the comma, because the phrases that were removed make the comma meaningless. The second ellipses should follow the period because the removed material comes after the period. The third ellipses should follow the comma because the removed materials appear after the comma.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cI have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi . . . will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. . . . I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, . . . little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1042\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Parentheses Practice. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Text: Brackets. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Modification of Mount Vesuvius (errors added). <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Wikipedia. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mount_Vesuvius\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mount_Vesuvius<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Text: Ellipses. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Style For Students Online. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Joe Schall. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Pennsylvania State University. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.e-education.psu.edu\/styleforstudents\/\">https:\/\/www.e-education.psu.edu\/styleforstudents\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Penn State&#039;s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences&#039; OER Initiative. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Modification of They might be giants, but how could they live with each other?. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Jon Tennant. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: European Geosciences Union. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.egu.eu\/network\/palaeoblog\/2015\/03\/05\/they-might-be-giants-but-how-could-they-live-with-each-other\">http:\/\/blogs.egu.eu\/network\/palaeoblog\/2015\/03\/05\/they-might-be-giants-but-how-could-they-live-with-each-other<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Green Tea and Velociraptors. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Brackets Activity. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Excelsior OWL. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/punctuation\/brackets\/brackets-try-it-out\/\">https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/punctuation\/brackets\/brackets-try-it-out\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Introduction to Parentheses. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Excelsior OWL. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/punctuation\/parentheses\/\">https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/punctuation\/parentheses\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">Public domain content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>The Importance of Being Earnest. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Oscar Wilde. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/844\">https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/844<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Project Gutenberg. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/pdm\">Public Domain: No Known Copyright<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Style For Students Online\",\"author\":\"Joe Schall\",\"organization\":\"The Pennsylvania State University\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.e-education.psu.edu\/styleforstudents\/\",\"project\":\"Penn State\\'s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences\\' OER Initiative\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Parentheses Practice\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Text: 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