
A while back, I proofread a book that was full of ellipses. If the manuscript hadn’t already been typeset, I would’ve asked the author to expunge them – mercilessly.
I did my best to correct them without messing with the layout, but it was tough. And I’m sure it was a nightmare for the poor desk editor who had to take in those corrections.
But it’s not the first time I’ve seen red over ellipses. I had a manager who used them with wild abandon. Their emails had more ellipses than words. It was like a cascade of dots across the screen, interrupted by uncapitalised sentence fragments. It was painful. And it didn’t go unnoticed by staff, who were so distracted by the dots (everyone talked about them) that they didn’t bother reading the email!
Personally, I’m not against ellipses. I use them myself, particularly in informal writing, articles and social posts, but they should be used with caution. Too many can lead to reader fatigue – or confusion. But before we look at how to use ellipses correctly, let's look at what they are.
What is an ellipsis?
An ellipsis (that’s the singular form) is a punctuation mark that replaces or stands in for missing words. It consists of three consecutive dots. Not four. Not five. Just three. In Australia, I use a shortcut that makes them one character – Alt 0133. Publishers often prefer this as the full stops don’t get separated and work as a unit.
When should you use ellipses?
There are many ways to use ellipses in your writing. Here are the most common ones:
• to create suspense (e.g. She lifted the knife and … )
• to suggest hesitation (e.g. I tried but … I dunno … it was hard.)
• to show a thought trailing off (e.g. Even though I was exhausted, I kept going … )
• to show missing words or ideas in quoted material (e.g. ‘Happiness is overrated … embrace misery.’
Unfortunately, many writers use ellipses in place of en dashes or other punctuation. Some genres, like personal development, use them for effect. For example, ‘Breathe in slowly …’ or ‘Think about an episode from your childhood…’ While a pause can be effective in these instances, it can sometimes look uncertain or overdone. To avoid this, choose terminal punctuation – or use ellipses judiciously.
Top tip: If you’re using ellipses to replace omitted content in a quote, do so carefully. Don’t excise words or lines that create ambiguity or change the meaning of the sentence.
How do you punctuate ellipses?
This depends on the style guide you’re using. According to the Australian Style Manual, a space is placed before and after the ellipsis (see the examples above), and there are no commas, semicolons or full stops at the end.
Other style guides, like the Modern Language Association Style, place terminal punctuation at the end of the ellipsis, which leaves you with four dots. For example, ‘Your house is big, but ….’
There are also rules about how many spaces should be before and/or after an ellipsis, or even between the dots. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style allows non-breaking spaces between the dots (. . .). When in doubt, follow the style guide in your region (or organisation). In the end, it all comes down to consistency!
How to use ellipses correctly: Takeaways
Ellipses are a handy device to have in your writing arsenal, but if you use them too often (like my former manager), they can create visual clutter and dilute your message. What’s more, readers may think that you’re unfocused, hesitant or don’t know how to punctuate – and they’ll switch off.
So use ellipses intentionally. Review them to make sure they’re having the effect you desire (and not weakening your prose). One ellipsis can go a long way …
If you’d like an editor to help you sort your ellipses from your en dashes, check out my Services page or request a sample edit.
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