What is up with the dots?

1
What is up with the dots?

• Find ellipses in your packet

2

• Original quote
• The human life span has nearly tripled in the
  last 200 years, from an average of 30 years to
  nearly 85 years. If you reach 65 and are healthy,
  you can expect to live for another 20 years.
• With ellipse
• The human life span has nearly tripled from a
  average of 30 years to nearly 85 years.

How Violet said, and then stopped. She was
still stunned, and it was difficult to finish the
sentence How did you find us so quickly, and how
did you get past the doorman, who promised to
keep you away from us? while under the element
of surprise. Where Klaus said, and then
stopped. He was as stunned as his sister, and he
found it impossible to finish the
sentence. Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate
Events The Ersatz Elevator
One his way out the door, he turns to make fun of
his brother. Youre going to schoooooolll.
Youre going to schohhoooooooolllll. Jordan
Sonnenblick, Drums, Girls Dangerous Pie
3
Ellipse

• Ellipses is a convention of writing that helps
  writers and readers more clearly understand
  written language.
• Mark omissions (used mostly to shorten a long
  quote)
• Add style with pauses and interruptions (I
  couldnt explain I just I loved her)
• Add style by trailing off (I knew we were both
  thinking the same thing.)
• If it is the last thing in a sentence, add a
  period (so there are four dots).

4
Omission

• The most common way to use an ellipsis is to show
  that youve omitted words. For example, if you're
  quoting someone and you want to shorten the
  quote, you use ellipses to indicate where you've
  dropped words or sentences.
• Note They SHOULD not change the meaning of the
  quote.

Original quote The human life span has nearly
tripled in the last 200 years, from an average of
30 years to nearly 85 years. If you reach 65 and
are healthy, you can expect to live for another
20 years. With ellipse The human life span
has nearly tripled from a average of 30 years to
nearly 85 years.
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Style - Pauses and Interruptions
He studied the grotesque faces before him. A
puzzle which, if we could fully understand it
would bringtruth. Avi, The Man Who was Poe
6
Style - Trailing off
And even though we didnt say it, I knew Lana
and I were both thinking the same thing. Sarah
Weeks, My Guy
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When to dot and when not to dot

• To sum up, use ellipses sparingly to indicate
  pauses, faltering speech or thoughts, and use
  them to shorten long quotations when necessary,
  but be sure you dont change the meaning.