The Full Meaning

Worksheet Description

This worksheet introduces the concept of the ellipsis, which is characterized as a series of three dots used in writing to indicate the omission of text that does not alter the overall meaning of a quote. The worksheet cites an excerpt from “The Social Contract & Discourses” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a practice passage. Students are instructed to read the provided passage and then rewrite a sentence from it, using an ellipsis to condense the text while preserving the original meaning. This task allows students to engage with classical literature while learning how to apply this punctuation tool.

The worksheet is designed to teach students the skill of concisely conveying complex ideas by using ellipses. By working with a passage from Rousseau, students practice distilling the essence of a longer text into a shorter form without losing the text’s original intent. This exercise not only helps students improve their grammatical proficiency and punctuation usage but also encourages close reading and comprehension of Enlightenment philosophical texts. Through this, students are equipped to effectively edit and refine their writing for clarity and brevity.