The ellipsis is one of the punctuation tools employed in order to prevent plagiarism. An ellipsis indicates the omission of a word or words from a direct quotation. It is important to remember that an ellipsis requires a single space between the periods. Using the ellipsis can be tricky, and it is crucial to follow a few guidelines. First, an ellipsis cannot be placed at the beginning of a sentence. Second, when using an ellipsis in the middle of a sentence, the first word after the ellipsis has a lowercase letter. Third, an ellipsis that appears at the end of a sentence requires a period—so four dots, rather than the standard three.
The ellipsis is used in quotations to show where the person speaking made a longer pause, or it is used to omit parts in larger quotations that can span entire paragraphs.
