<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def _formatIds(self, element, element_type):
 """ Formats a set of identifiers for query """

        elementClause = None
        if isinstance(element, collections.Iterable):
            elements = []
            for _id in element:
                elements.append('?{} = <{}> '.format(
                    element_type, _id))
            elementClause = "({})".format(" || ".join(elements))
        return elementClause