35. Use Ellipses, Italics and Parentheses in Quotation

35. Use ellipses, italics, and parentheses in quotations

-Ellipses = ... can be used to omit parts of a passage.

-Italics can be used to bring emphasis to keywords, but you must indicate that they are your italics by stating my italics in parentheses at the end of the quote. (my italics)

-(Parentheses) can be used to insert your words into a quotation. Be careful not to overdo this, for it will alter the originality of the quotation. Parentheses are best used to replace a pronoun whose antecedent is not present in the passage your a quoting.

Parentheses can also be used to create a lower case letter:

Correct: In Walden Thoreau states, “(modern men) do not ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us.” (Thoreau 45).

-the modern men was substituted for “We”

Parentheses can also be used to make the first letter of a quotation lower case instead of uppercase:

Correct: Returning to his idea that industrial progress may not be progress at all, Thoreau states, “(w)e do not ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us.” (Thoreau 45).

Correct: John Milton states in Paradise Lost that he will describe “(m)an’s first disobedience, and the fruit / Of that forbidden tree.../And justify the ways of God to men.” (lines 1-2, 6)-(my italics).

-the “M” was made a “m” by parentheses

-lines 3-5 were omitted by ellipses

-the word “justify” was emphasized by italics created by the essay writer