If you are adding words or sentences that were not part of the original quotation, you will need to write them within brackets. Example (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2022):
Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states, “some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale” (78)
When omitting words or phrases from an original quotation, you must indicate it by adding three periods ( . . . ) They must be proceeded and followed by a standard space. Example (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2022):
In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that “some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs” (78).
Ellipses do not have to be written between paragraphs unless they add clarity. When omitting from a poem, you must add standard ellipses; however, if you omit an entire line, then you must add several periods to the length of that line (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2022):
These beauteous forms,
Through a long absence, have not been to me
As is a landscape to a blind man’s eye:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration . . . (22-24, 28-30)
References
Prude Online Writing Lab. (2022). MLA formatting quotations: Adding or omitting words in quotations. Purdue University. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_quotations.html
