Question

7. Consider this quote: "In each of these historical instances . . . mistrust led to misunderstanding, which led to armed conflict." The ellipsis in this quote is appropriate if A. it stands for the omission of only a single word. B. the omitted words express the bias of the person quoted. C. the omission is longer than 10 words. D. the meaning and spirit of the quote is retained.

Answer 1

D is the correct answer. You can omit as many words as you want, as long as 'the meaning and spirit of the quote is retained', that is, the general sense you wanted to convey with that quote is still there, even after you deleted those several words. 

Answer 2

Answer: The ellipsis in this quote is appropriate if D. the meaning and spirit of the quote is retained.

Explanation: In some cases, when the writer of a text decides quote someone else's ideas in a direct way, he/she also chooses to omit some words or phrases from that quote. However, one of the rules for omitting word or phrases in a quote is to avoid using ellipsis to alter the original meaning of that quote. In other words, it is important that the writer who quotes someone else's ideas do not make the source say something that he/she never said. Moreover, when resorting to ellipsis in a quote, it is necessary that the writer use three dots to indicate that there were some words/phrases left out.