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For example, if I wanted to say:

John Muir says in his 5th paragraph, "I splashed on through the swamp, strong and exhilarated(.) (. . .)"

Would I end the quote with a period since it is the end of my sentence, or would I use an ellipsis as I ended the quote mid-sentence?

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    I think square brackets are generally used for additions/removals inside quotes.
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 18:32
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    That depends on what style guide you are using. See reference.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 18:41
  • If you are asking if you can end with period quote, even though the original is mid-sentence, yes.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 18:48
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    "I splashed on through the swamp, strong and exhilarated ...." Note the space before the ellipse and the ending period.
    – MikeJRamsey56
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 19:36
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    @marcellothearcane My apologies. The MLA Handbook recommends surrounding ellipses with square brackets to differentiate omissions made by you from those already present in the quoted text. The Ellipses. I didn't know that one. "I splashed on through the swamp, strong and exhilarated [...]."
    – MikeJRamsey56
    Commented Jul 25, 2017 at 23:45

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This is a matter of style. Authorities differ on the usage of ellipsis points when a quotation is placed at the end of a sentence, and the quoted material itself is only part of a larger sentence.

The Chicago Manual of Style omits the ellipsis in favour of a sentence-ending period:

John Muir says in his 5th paragraph, "I splashed on through the swamp, strong and exhilarated."

[Note, however, an exception in the case where the sentence as quoted is deliberately incomplete.]

The MLA Handbook places the sentence-ending period after the last word of the quotation, and follows that with an ellipsis:

John Muir says in his 5th paragraph, "I splashed on through the swamp, strong and exhilarated. . . ."

[Regarding a comment made above regarding MLA style for ellipses, it appears that The MLA Handbook dictates that ellipses be enclosed in square brackets only when it is necessary to distinguish these from ellipses in the original quoted text. Refer here, scroll down to Ellipses in Work that Includes Ellipsis.]

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