Ellipsis and Dash
Ellipses and Dashes are used to indicate pauses, breaks, or omissions in your writing.
Ellipsis Examples:
(Pause or Break) "Julia cried and cried . . . then cried some more."
(Pause or Break) "I know I left my keys somewhere . . ."
(Omission) Original Sentence: "We went to her house, which was several blocks away, and then came home."
With Ellipsis: "We went to her house . . . and then came home." (which was several blocks away has been omitted)
Dash Examples:
"All of my school work—physics, Academic Decathlon, sociology, and calculus—got washed away when my house was flooded."
"But I—But you said— . . . wait, what?" stammered Edna.
"Flipped Classroom Videos"
Understand-don't just watch-the videos linked below (and the rules on the right) so you do well on your assessment. Your score on the assessment will not go in the gradebook, but it will indicate how much practice work you need on these topics. So, the better you do, the less time you have to spend working with these topics! (Did you notice how I slipped a dash into the instructions above . . . pretty amazing right?)
Ellipsis Rules:
Use ellipsis marks when omitting a word, phrase, line, paragraph, or more from a quoted passage.
NOTE: To create ellipsis marks with a PC, type the period three times and the spacing will be automatically set, or press Ctrl-Alt and the period once.
There are many methods for using ellipses. The three-dot method is the simplest and is appropriate for most general works and many scholarly ones. The three- or four-dot method and an even more rigorous method used in legal works require fuller explanations that can be found in other reference books.
Use no more than three marks whether the omission occurs in the middle of a sentence or between sentences.
Example:
Original sentence: The regulation states, "All agencies must document overtime or risk losing federal funds." Rewritten using ellipses: The regulation states, "All agencies must document overtime..."
NOTE: With the three-dot method, you may leave out punctuation such as commas that were in the original.
Example:
Original sentence from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Rewritten using ellipses: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth...a new nation, conceived in liberty..."
Dash Rules:
An em dash is the width of an m. Use an em dash sparingly in formal writing. In informal writing, em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought.
Examples:
You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me.
Never have I met such a lovely person—before you.
I pay the bills—she has all the fun.
A semicolon would be used here in formal writing.
I need three items at the store—dog food, vegetarian chili, and cheddar cheese.
Remember, a colon would be used here in formal writing.
My agreement with Fiona is clear—she teaches me French and I teach her German.
Again, a colon would work here in formal writing.
Please call my agent—Jessica Cohen—about hiring me.
Parentheses or commas would work just fine here instead of the dashes.
I wish you would—oh, never mind.
This shows an abrupt change in thought and warrants an em dash.
To form an em dash on most PCs, type the first word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0151 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. Then type the second word. You may also form an em dash by typing the first word, hitting the hyphen key twice, and then typing the second word. Your program will turn the two hyphens into an em dash for you.
While there are many more possible uses of the em dash, by not providing additional rules, I am hoping to curb your temptation to employ this convenient but overused punctuation mark.
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**Please use the resources you have (videos, rules, notes, etc. as you complete these activities!**
COMBO
Activity C1: Create a graphic organizer to help you understand when and how to use ellipses and dashes. This organizer MAY be of use to on the day of the quiz! Here is a site that has graphic organizer templates. I suggest thinking about a T-Chart, but you may use any that you like. Your organizers may be digital (computer) or physical (printed out and filled in by hand)
ELLIPSIS
Activity E1: Complete this document on ellipses.
Activity E2: Complete this document on ellipses
Activity E3: You will be assigned this if you do poorly on E1 or E2.
DASHES
Activity D1: Complete this document on dashes
Activity D2: Create a new Google Doc and correctly punctuate the sentences that are in Exercise 12 on page 680 in the Elements of Language textbook. Name your document #LN D2.
Early Finishers will go to www.ixl.com and complete the following:
Dashes E.1
Ellipsis F.1
Hyphens G.1
Frequently Confused Words LL.1 and LL.2
You need to score at least a 90 or above on ixl assignments!!
BE SWEET FOR MS. KEYS!! LOVE, ME:)
Dashes E.1
Ellipsis F.1
Hyphens G.1
Frequently Confused Words LL.1 and LL.2
You need to score at least a 90 or above on ixl assignments!!
BE SWEET FOR MS. KEYS!! LOVE, ME:)
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