Ellipsis Points, Parentheses, and Brackets

1. Ellipsis Points, Parentheses, and Brackets p. 417 and p. 430

2. Ellipsis Points . . . • Use ellipsis points to mark omissions from quote material and pauses in a written passage. • Use three periods with spaces in between . . .

3. Ellipsis Points . . . • When you omit words from the middle of a sentence, use three spaced ellipsis points • “It was easy for me to feel that becoming a proud American, as she said we should, did not mean feeling ashamed of being a Mexican.” • In his autobiography, Galarza recalls, “It was easy for me to feel that becoming a proud American . . . did not mean feeling ashamed of being a Mexican.”

4. Ellipsis Points . . . • When you omit words at the beginning of a sentence within a quoted passage, keep the previous sentence’s end punctuation and follow it with the points of ellipsis. • “I astounded the third grade with the story of my travels on a stagecoach, which nobody else in the class had seen except in the museum at Sutter’s Fort. After a visit to the Crocker Art Gallery and its collection of heroic paintings of the golden age of California, someoneshowed a silk scroll with a Chinese painting.” • “I astounded the third grade with the story of my travels on a stagecoach, which nobody else in the class had seen except in the museum at Sutter’s Fort. . . . [S]omeone showed a silk scroll with a Chinese painting.” • The s has been capitalized because it begins the sentence following the ellipsis points; brackets are used to show this is a change from the original passage.

5. Ellipsis Points . . . • When you omit words at the end of a sentence within a quoted passage, keep the sentence’s end punctuation and follow it with points of ellipsis. • Miss Hopley herself had a way of expressing wonder over these matters before class, her eyes wide open until they popped slightly. It was easy for me to feel that coming a proud American, as she said we should, did not mean feeling ashamed of being a Mexican.” • Miss Hopley herself had a way of expressing wonder over these matters before class. . . . It was easy for me to feel that coming a proud American, as she said we should, did not mean feeling ashamed of being a Mexican.”

6. Ellipsis Points . . . • When you omit one or more complete sentences from a quoted passage, keep the previous sentence’s end punctuation and follow it with the points of ellipsis. • Use three spaced ellipsis points ( . . . ) to indicate a pause in written dialogue. • “Well, . . . I don’t know what to say,” Sarah answered.

7. Ellipsis Points . . . • To show that a full line or more of poetry has been omitted, use an entire line of spaced periods. I dream of Hanoi: Co-ngu Road ten years of separation the way back sliced by a frontier of hatred. I want to bury the past to burn the future still I yearn still I fear those endless nights waiting for dawn. I dream of Hanoi: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ten years of separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I want to bury the past to burn the future still I yearn still I fear those endless nights waiting for dawn.

8. Parentheses ( ) • Use parentheses to enclose informative or explanatory material of minor importance. • The late Representative Barbara Jordan (Texas) was on that committee. • The length of the Mekong River is 4,186 kilometers (about 2,600 miles). • “The Rams [sic] have one state championship (2011 Class 4A girls) and one state runner-up finish (2010 Class 4A boys).” • Be sure that the material within parentheses can be omitted without losing important information or changing the basic meaning or structure of the sentence. Error: Tina had been shopping (in that store) most of her life. http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302130056

9. Parentheses ( ) • A sentence enclosed in parentheses may fall within another sentence or may stand by itself • The largest island of the Solomon Islands (see the map on page 453) is Guadalcanal. • I hope I persuaded Alex (is he a senior?) to help us. • If it’s within a sentence-- • Do not capitalize the first word unless it begins with a proper noun • Do not end with a period but may end with ? or ! • The largest island of the Solomon Islands is Guadalcanal. (See the map on page 453.) • Alex asked if he could help us. (What do you think I said?) • If it stands by itself— • Begin with a capital letter • End with a period, ?, or ! before the closing parenthesis

10. Brackets [ ] • Use brackets to enclose an explanation within quoted or parenthetical material • Ms. Grayson was quoted as saying in her acceptance speech: “I am honored by this [the award], and I would like to share the recognition with those who made my work possible.” • By a vote of 5 to 4, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling. (See page 149 [Diagram A] for a chronology of the case.)

11. Brackets [ ] • Use brackets and the Latin word sic to indicate that an error existed in the original version of the quoted passage. • As one critic has said, “The publication of ‘The Raven’ in 1846 [sic] ensured Poe’s lasting literary fame but did little for his immediate financial needs.” • Note: The publication date should be 1845.

12. Brackets • "I think i could be a lobster fisherman, but not if i had to learn how to spell crustashun [sic].” – Stephen Colbert • On Obama’s election win: "I'm so happy! This is one of the great nites [sic] of my life !!!! Tears r streaming down my face! women we have a champion!!!“ – Cher • On Obama’s election win: "Barack Obama re-elected as 44th President of the USA!!!! Go @BarackObama!!!! Me and my friends celebrating! I'm on tears [sic]! Moving the country forward!!! Obama!!!“ – Eva Longoria

13. Practice With a partner, complete the assigned exercises to practice usage of ellipsis points, parentheses, and brackets. Be as neat as possible since you are using small punctuation marks. When you finish, return to your seat, turn your work in to the tray, and work on another assignment.