Ellipses

Ellipses

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When to Use Ellipses

If someone trails off and doesn't finish a sentence use ellipses, (three dots)… up against the end of the last word. This is in contrast to the hyphen, which is used to show that an utterance has been broken off abruptly.

Example: "Are you here for the party, or...?"

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Formatting Rules

• Ellipses should be followed by a space and a new sentence (where they are part of a trailing off)

• They don't need a space before them

• Can be closed with a question mark when appropriate: "...?"

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Suspension Points

Where ellipses are used as a suspension point, perhaps where an interjection occurs but then the original sentence is completed, no capital letter is required:

Example:

Interviewer: It's not that...

Respondent: Okay.

Interviewer: ...way

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Distinction from Hyphens

• Ellipses (...) = Speaker trails off naturally of their own accord

• Hyphens (-) = Cut off by external force (interruption, event)

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In Different Verbatim Styles

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Standard/Clean Verbatim

Please do not overuse ellipses in 'Standard, clean' transcripts. Sometimes they are necessary, but often their use indicates a point where editing out a false start/change of direction would be more appropriate.

Example of better editing:

• Instead of: "I should point out that he... Mark said we should"

• Better: "I should point out that Mark said we should"

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Strict/Super Strict Verbatim

Ellipses are fine to use in strict and super strict verbatim where natural speech patterns are preserved.

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Best Practices

• Use sparingly in clean verbatim

• Consider editing instead of using ellipses

• Reserve for genuine trailing off

• Format correctly with proper spacing

• Should a trailing off be the start of a question, please use ...?