Using Ellipses in Dialogue

The video tutorial explains the use of ellipses in writing, particularly in dialogue, to indicate pauses or missing text. It covers the rules for spacing ellipses and provides examples of how they can enhance the authenticity of dialogue. The tutorial also guides viewers through analyzing a speaker's mood to determine where ellipses should be placed. Finally, it offers practice exercises for revising dialogue with ellipses.

What is the primary purpose of using ellipses in dialogue?

• To indicate a question

• To show a pause or missing text

• To emphasize a statement

• To correct a grammatical error

According to most experts, how should ellipses be formatted?

• With a space before and after, but not between periods

• With a comma before and after the ellipsis

• With spaces between each period and before and after the ellipsis

• With no spaces between periods

Why is it important to pay attention to how ellipses look on your computer?

• Because ellipses are not recognized by all software

• Because computers cannot display ellipses

• Because ellipses change the font style

• Because some programs automatically add spaces

In the context of dialogue, what can ellipses help convey about a speaker?

• The speaker's profession

• The speaker's age

• The speaker's mood or hesitation

• The speaker's location

When revising dialogue, what should you consider to determine where to place ellipses?

• The speaker's mood and natural pauses

• The time of day the dialogue occurs

• The number of characters in the dialogue

• The length of the sentence

What is the effect of adding ellipses to dialogue in a story?

• It makes the dialogue longer

• It adds humor to the dialogue

• It clarifies how the dialogue should sound

• It changes the meaning of the dialogue

What should you do after revising your dialogue with ellipses?

• Change the setting of the story

• Add more characters to the dialogue

• Read it aloud to check for natural pauses

• Remove all punctuation