Today’s post shares guidelines for putting ellipsis points in brackets when they are added to quotations that already include ellipses for dialogue disruptions or text omissions. Bracketed ellipses are a rather rare occurrence; so, review the first three parts of this series if you need broader information about ellipses:
How to Use Ellipses, Part 1: Ellipses within and between Quoted Sentences
How to Use Ellipses, Part 2: Ellipses between Quoted Paragraphs
How to Use Ellipses, Part 3: Ellipses at the Beginning and End of Quoted Sentences
Although my posts normally reference the “big four” style guides (i.e., The Associated Press Stylebook [AP], The Chicago Manual of Style [Chicago], the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association [APA]), this post is limited to references from Chicago and MLA because APA and AP don’t recommend putting ellipses in brackets.1
Ellipses in Brackets When Combined with Dialogue Disruptions (Chicago Style)
General Rule: Consider putting ellipses in brackets when creating multiple omissions in a quotation that also includes one or more sets of ellipses representing a dialogue disruption.
Most style guides define ellipses as (1) the three points representing an omission in a quotation (e.g., text deliberately removed because it is repetitive or irrelevant) and as (2) the three points representing a disruption in dialogue (e.g., when the speaker pauses or stops speaking midsentence). Chicago style indicates that ellipses representing dialogue disruptions can also be called “suspension points.”2
Regardless of what you call them, if you need to truncate a quotation that includes ellipses representing a dialogue disruption, Chicago offers two suggestions:
1. If you are only creating a few omissions, don’t put your ellipses in brackets, just add a note (e.g., “Final ellipses added.”) explaining authorship of the ellipses or suspension points.3
Original: The court reporter quoted the eyewitness as saying, “I saw . . . I saw a man wearing a blue ski mask. He was about six feet tall, about the same height as you, or maybe a little taller. Can I have some water?”
Truncated with a Note: The court reporter quoted the eyewitness as saying, “I saw . . . I saw a man wearing a blue ski mask. He was about six feet tall, about the same height as you, or maybe a little taller. . . .” (Final ellipses added.)
2. If you are creating several omissions, consider putting your ellipses in brackets to distinguish them from dialogue disruptions and include a note (e.g., “Bracketed ellipses added.”) somewhere in the text to explain that bracketed ellipses are not original to the quoted text.4
Original: The court reporter quoted the eyewitness as saying, “I saw . . . I saw a man wearing a blue ski mask. He was about six feet tall, about the same height as you, or maybe a little taller. Can I have some water?”
Truncated with Bracketed Ellipses and a Note: The court reporter quoted the eyewitness as saying, “I saw . . . I saw a man wearing a blue ski mask. He was about six feet tall [. . .] or maybe a little taller. [. . .]” (Bracketed ellipses added.)
Ellipses in Brackets When Combined with Omissions or Dialogue Disruptions (MLA Style)
General Rule: Consider putting your ellipses in brackets if you are truncating a quotation that already includes ellipses.
MLA suggests writing a note (e.g., “Second ellipses added.”) or putting your ellipses in brackets when truncating a quotation that already includes ellipses either for omissions or for dialogue disruptions.5
Original: The court reporter quoted the eyewitness as saying, “I saw . . . I saw a man wearing a blue ski mask. He was about six feet tall, about the same height as you, or maybe a little taller. Can I have some water?”
Truncated with Bracketed Ellipses: The court reporter quoted the eyewitness as saying, “I saw . . . I saw a man wearing a blue ski mask. He was about six feet tall [. . .] or maybe a little taller. [. . .]”
Although MLA is primarily focused on academic writing and research, any writer or editor can apply this clear-cut recommendation (unless he or she is following another style guide with a contradictory recommendation, of course). In fact, this is the recommendation I suggest following if you don’t have a preferred style guide or if you are looking for ellipsis point guidelines to add to your in-house style guide.
Believe it or not, this ellipsis point series is almost finished! The upcoming fifth—and final—part will discuss ellipses in dialogue.
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1. The Associated Press Stylebook 2019 (New York: The Associated Press, 2019), 323. AP style, which is journalism focused, doesn’t cover bracket usage because brackets can’t be sent over news wires.
2. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 13.50.
3. Chicago Manual of Style, 13.58.
4. Chicago Manual of Style, 13.58.
5. MLA Handbook, 8th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2016), 85.
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