In a literary analysis essay, ellipsis points are primarily used to show omissions in quoted passages. This helps clarify that some text has been removed from the original quote for brevity or relevance to your argument, without altering the overall meaning of the quoted material.
While ellipses can help create a certain tone in writing, their main function in academic contexts is to indicate that something has been left out. They should not be used to set off introductory phrases and clauses or to replace phrases like "in other words," "namely," or "for example."
Here's how to use them correctly in your essay:
- If you want to quote a passage but omit part of it, you would use ellipses to show where the omission occurs. For example: "The character conflicted with ... the values of society" indicates that text has been omitted from the original quote.
Always ensure that the use of ellipses does not distort the intended meaning of the original text.