Ellipsis - in Writing

In Writing

It is used to build tension or show that the sentence has been left unfinished or unstarted.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, an ellipsis was often used when a writer intentionally omitted a specific proper noun, such as a location: "Jan was born on . . . Street in Warsaw."

As commonly used, this juxtaposition of characters is referred to as "dots of ellipsis" in the English language.

Occasionally, it would be used in pulp fiction and other works of early 20th C. fiction to denote expletives that would otherwise have been censored.

An ellipsis may also imply an unstated alternative indicated by context. For example, when Count Dracula says "I never drink . . . wine", the implication is that he does drink something else.

In reported speech, the ellipsis is sometimes used to represent an intentional silence, perhaps indicating irritation, dismay, shock or disgust.

In poetry, this is used to highlight sarcasm or make the reader think about the last points in the poem.

In news reporting, it is used to indicate that a quotation has been condensed for space, brevity or relevance.

Herb Caen, Pulitzer-prize-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, became famous for his "Three-dot journalism".