Writing White Papers - Latest Comments in Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

rake — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:01:08 -0000

WOW, that's really works! thanks Michael! i don't even get what ellipsis stated here means before. thanks for your information, i gain some knowledge from you!

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Fight Videos — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:02:22 -0000

I tried it before and I find that it actually works. I love to use them once in a while to give varieties to the style. It spice things up.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Adan Lerma — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:05:37 -0000

hi,

i'm in another field, the arts, but liked your short take and wanted to say i use ellipses a lot in my poetry

i tend to use it as a pause, or moment, and its meaning will vary in it's tone, based on the word images or activities, and connotations around it...

there's also a style of poetry i like to do where i come up with examples, usually images, though sometimes actions or activity, and the ellipses link each image/action segment, usually to the title

an exp is: www.adanlerma.com/blog/2585... titled "a daughter sometimes is..."

thanks,

adan
www.adanlerma.com

ps - i also tend to use four dots to end a continuing stream of ellipses

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Bhumika — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:10:36 -0000

It does make it easier to consume larger text area's. Right now I'm looking at some of direct mailing brochure that is using ellipses too...

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Shane — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 12:55:38 -0000

I use it oftenly too...But just now I know that it's called ellipses. I think ellipses could express special impression to the readers.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Rick — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:41:36 -0000

Fortunately, it's easier to use than to spell.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Dina — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:39:51 -0000

PS - Oops. I think I may have spelled ellipsis wrong in my haste to leave a comment.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Dina at Wordfeeder.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:38:55 -0000

I find that an ellipse in the place of a period softens the tone in email communication. Something about that trail-off makes your standard business-speak somehow more palatable...

Dina

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Michael Stelzner — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:37:54 -0000

Thanks for your comments everyone!!

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

mac — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:49:25 -0000

i use ... habitually. ive never considered it a good or bad thing!

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Rick — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:22:51 -0000

Direct mail marketing copy has used ellipses in this way for years. Never thought about using them in white paper editorial content but ellipses may be worth trying for short lists of not too many words.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

art — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:55:48 -0000

Ellipsis. I often use it as a sign of a pausing moment. Also as a method to decorate my post =..=

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Dianna Huff — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:54:57 -0000

I'm with Sean -- I like dashes. I got into the habit of using them while in college after reading too much Laurence Sterne. Dashes give your copy energy and let you connect thoughts without having to come to a full period stop. I use them so much I have to weed them out of my copy.

My pet peeve is people who use a hyphen instead of a full dash - like this. Ack!

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Internet Marketing Joy — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:18:32 -0000

Hi Michael..^^

I don't know why..but I've always used ellipsis..when I post comments, text or write some notes..^^

For me..it is more easier and less boring to read..^^...anyways great post!..^^

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Bill B — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:45:28 -0000

I consider myself an expressive writer (my wife says...too much!) so I am constantly going back and reducing / editing my copy. I use everything I can to get my point across ...it may come from my art training. So, I have been using this technique forever. Nice to see it may be beneficial to getting their attention (or) hanging on my page a while longer.
Ciao!

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Sean — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:42:33 -0000

I like the ellipses, but my personal preference to creating a pause, both internally and on through the white space on the page, is by using the dash. It's almost like an arrow pointing the reader in the direction you want. I also teach college composition, and I encourage my students to use the dash, too.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

mac — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:30:44 -0000

i always use ellipses in my blog. Till now i never thought that it is an attraction to readers. Im using it as sign for a continuing thoughts.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Geek Mother — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:05:09 -0000

My own personal take on this is that the power of this approach is not the ellipses but the white space that they create! It is a well known fact that link elements at the bottom of a vertical list that have white space below them get a disproportionate number of clicks and in effect the ellipses create the same effect but in the horizontal direction. Off to test some interesting ways to use this in relation to embedded links.

Re: Should You… Use An Ellipsis?

Brandi Cummings — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:49:14 -0000

I do use ellipses in a couple of different situations. For example, when I want to convey that a thought continues, have my readers fill in the blank themselves, or have them pause to think about what I said. However, I tend to use them only in more casual writing such as my blogs and some articles and not in more formal copy such as my website or white papers.