1. ABBREVIATIONS
They are frequently used in tables, footnotes, endnotes, and
bibliographies to help readers proceed through material
quickly. The following abbreviations are acceptable in
nontechnical writing:
2. Abbreviated titles and degrees: Abbreviate
titles of address when they precede a full name, except for president and
mayor, which are never abbreviated.
Mr. Samuel Taylor Dr. Ellen Hunter
St. Francis of Assisi Prof. Ahmed Greenberg
Gen. Colin Powell Sen. Trent Lott
Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Except for Mr., Mrs., and Dr., do not abbreviate titles that appear before a
surname alone: Professor Greenberg, Senator Braun. Do not abbraviate or
capitalize titles that are not used with a proper name.
*Raissa Goldblum has been named assistant prof./ of chemistry. (In this
case we have to write professor).
3. Important:
Always abbreviate titles and degrees that follow a name, such
as esq., M.D., LL.D., and Ph.D. Use either a title (such as Dr.)
or a degree (such as M.D.), but not both.
*Dr. Randall Marshall Randall Marshall, M.D.
Always abbreviate generational titles such as Jr. and Sr. When
used in a sentence, they are set off by commas.
He talked to Thomas Burke, Jr., and to Karen Burke.
4. Abbreviations with numbers
Time. Use A.M. and P.M (or a.m. and p.m) for specific times of day.
3.45 P.M. (or p.m) 12 noon
Year.Use B.C and A.D (Anno Domini) for calendar years. Only A.D.
precedes the year. To avoid religious reference, many writers
substitute B.C.E (Before Common Era) and C.E (Common Era).
425 B.C (or 425 B.C.E) A.D. 1215(or 1215 C.E)
Degrees, numbers, and units of measure.
F for degrees Fahrenheit and C for degrees Celsius when writing out
temperatures. Use no. Or No. For Number . Use mph for miles per
hour.
The prime minister’s address is No. 10 Downing street.
The speed limit is 65 mph on the interstate and 55 mph on other road.
In scientific and technical writing, abbreviate units of measure, usually
without periods.
To 750 ml of this solution he added 200 mg of sodium cyanate.
5. Symbols: Use symbols when in nontechnical writing fro
degrees ( ), percents (%), and dollars or pesos ($) when they
°
are used with figures. Spell out symbols in words when they
are used without figures.
* He dreamed about what he would do with the $$$
(money).
*The temperature was 30°C.
6. Abbreviated geographic names: Abbreviate geopraphic names when
addressing mail. Use the U.S Postal Service state abbreviations.
STATE ABBREVIATIONS: Use the Postal Service abbreviations (Capitalized,
with no periods), for the names of the city states and the District of
Columbia only on mail, in full addresses in text, or in documentation.
STATE ABBREVIATION
Alabama AL
California CA
District of Columbia DC
Florida FL
New York NY
Massachusetts MA
Oklahoma OK
Pennsylvania PA
South Carolina SC
Texas TX
Virginia VA
7. Common Latin Abbreviations. Use certain common Latin abbreviations
in documentation and notes, but write out their English equivalents
in the text of your papers.
ABBREVIATION LATIN MEANING
c. or ca. circa about
cf. confer compare
e.g. exempli gratia for example
et al. et alii and others
etc. et cetera and so forth
ibid. ibidem in the same place
i.e. id est that is
N.B. nota bene note well
vs. or v. versus againts
8. Acronyms and initials. An acronym is a word made up of initials
and pronounced as a word.
NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization, for example.
Acronyms are written with no periods and no spaces between the letters.
CD: Compact Disk.
JFK: John F. Kennedy
Some abbreviations for countries do use periods but no spaces: U.S., U.K
Make sure that acronyms and initial abbreviations are familiar to your
readers. If you have any doubts, give the full name the first time,
followed by the abbreviation or acronym in parenthesis.
*World commerce is governed in large part by a set of treaties called the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
